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How do Jimmy Fallon's ratings compare to other late-night shows?
Executive Summary
Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show trails its chief broadcast competitors in recent Nielsen-based summaries: Stephen Colbert’s Late Show leads in total viewers by a wide margin, while Jimmy Kimmel often outperforms Fallon in the advertiser‑valued 18–49 demo, leaving Fallon generally third among the big three in mid‑2024 through mid‑2025 reporting. All three hosts have suffered long‑term declines in audience, with sharp year‑over‑year drops in the 18–49 demographic noted across multiple quarterly reports, even as short‑term month‑to‑month fluctuations sometimes favor Fallon. [1] [2] [3]
1. Why Colbert is running away with total viewers—and what that means for Fallon
Nielsen rollups and industry trackers show The Late Show with Stephen Colbert averaging roughly double Fallon’s total audience in several Q2/2025 snapshots, with figures around 2.4 million for Colbert versus about 1.19–1.29 million for Fallon, making Colbert the clear leader in overall reach. Total‑viewer dominance matters for network prestige and late‑night advertising packages that still value raw audience size, and Colbert’s lead has been consistent in reports dated mid‑2025 and earlier. Fallon’s smaller total audience constrains NBC’s leverage even when Fallon posts stronger single‑night spikes; industry summaries note Fallon’s totals down year‑over‑year while Colbert’s remain comparatively higher, indicating a structural gap rather than a timing anomaly. [1] [3]
2. The advertiser demo tells a different story—but Fallon is weakened there too
Advertisers prize the 18–49 demo; industry summaries show Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert generally outpacing Fallon in this key cohort across several quarterly reports, with Kimmel and Colbert posting demo numbers around 200–220 thousand versus Fallon’s roughly 150–160 thousand in many Q2/2025 extracts. Multiple analyses also document steep declines since the mid‑2010s—industry pieces cite 70–80% drops for late‑night 18–49 audiences over a decade—which compresses available ad dollars and increases the relative importance of small demo swings. Fallon’s demo erosion—documented as double‑digit year‑over‑year declines in some quarterly comparisons—signals both a shift in audience habits and an uphill commercial challenge for NBC’s late‑night strategy. [4] [5] [3]
3. Short‑term variability: Fallon can post wins, but not consistently
Quarterly and monthly trackers record periodic upticks for Fallon—for example modest total‑viewer gains in specific quarters or winning nights such as March 6, 2024—but these are framed as episodic rather than trend‑changing. LateNighter and related aggregators show Fallon achieving small percentage increases in select reporting windows (e.g., low single‑digit total‑viewer growth in some Q4/2024 and Q1/2025 summaries), yet those gains are frequently overshadowed by larger year‑over‑year declines or competitors’ gains in subsequent reports. This pattern suggests Fallon’s show can leverage guest bookings or viral segments for temporary boosts, but lacks the sustained momentum evident in Colbert’s consistently higher total audience. [6] [7] [8]
4. Context: everyone’s audience is shrinking, but degrees differ
Industry filings and trade summaries emphasize a broad secular decline across late‑night TV: streaming, time‑shifted viewing, and fragmenting habits have produced steep losses in the 18–49 demo compared with 2015 baselines, and most trackers report double‑digit annual declines for the major shows. Within that environment, Colbert’s ability to retain more total viewers and Kimmel’s relative strength in the demo are meaningful differentiators; Fallon’s larger percentage drops in some comparisons make his position more vulnerable. Analysts caution against equating a single quarter’s numbers with long‑term health, but the consistent pattern across multiple mid‑2024 and mid‑2025 reports points to real competitive disadvantages for Fallon. [4] [1] [2]
5. What different sources emphasize—and where agendas might show through
Trade outlets like LateNighter and aggregator pieces commonly present raw Nielsen figures and quarter‑over‑quarter percentage changes; some reports highlight network narratives—NBC’s framing of modest growth on select metrics versus critics’ focus on long‑term erosion. Summaries that stress Fallon’s occasional wins tend to cite single‑night or monthly spikes, while broader quarterly breakdowns emphasize Colbert’s lead in total reach and Kimmel’s demo strength. Readers should note source emphasis: outlets oriented to industry advertisers stress demo movement, whereas general entertainment recaps may spotlight total viewers or viral moments. The data from mid‑2024 through mid‑2025 consistently show Fallon trailing on the main metrics most advertisers and networks monitor. [9] [5] [3]