These last few months of the 2025 TV schedule could potentially mark the final time TV audiences will experience a full year of Big 3 late night talk shows, considering The Late Show’s cancellation will leave a Stephen Colbert-sized void on CBS. All of the hubbub surrounding the show and its parent companies has attracted even more attention to an already complicated situation, but a lot of those eyeballs are helping Colbert keep a dominating foothold over his competition. At least for the most part.
According to previously unveiled stats from Late Nighter, The Late Show holds the crown for the most watched late night option for Q3 2025, and it would be hard to argue against the idea that the July cancellation news inspired an uptick in viewership. (And possibly even helped fuel the show’s first Emmy win for Outstanding Talk Show.) Here’s how the July-September totals shook out in comparison with the prior three months, across both the 11:30 p.m. hour and the 12:30 a.m. block.
- The Late Show with Stephen Colbert - 2.84 million avg. viewers (+17%); 260k 18-49 year-olds demographic (+19%)
- Jimmy Kimmel Live! - 1.85 million avg viewers; 243k 18-49 demo
- The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon - 1.23 million avg. viewers; 170k 18-49 demo
- Late Night with Seth Meyers - 923k avg. viewers; 109k 19-49 demo
- Nightline - 745k avg. viewers; 96k 18-49 demo
Sure, total viewership numbers don't paint the entire picture indicating a show's overall popularity, but the face value of The Late Show's dominance here is pretty telling. Not only did that three-month stretch give Colbert a million-viewer advantage over his second-place competition, but he averaged twice the number of total viewers as Jimmy Fallon on NBC.
The CBS staple's demo numbers were not quite as lofty, which plays into expectations. CBS audiences tend to skew older, and Colbert's guests and political topics are also more likely to be viewed by older generations than those more privy to watching interview clips on TikTok. He still brought more 18-49 viewers overall, but its percentage of the total audience was far lower than that of Kimmel and Fallon's viewer bases.
Worth noting here is that Jimmy Kimmel's high-end demographic totals were likely fueled by the response to his ABC suspension over comments made in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk's shooting. That took place in mid-September, and his return episode a week later earned record-setting numbers for Kimmel.
The Latest Late Night Numbers
The Jimmy Kimmel suspension brouhaha dissipated in the following days and weeks, and it's been pretty quiet all around, at least comparatively, in the world of late night. (Not counting Donald Trump's recent calls for Seth Meyers to get fired.) For the week of November 9, the ABC host scored a win despite going through a personal rough patch involving the death of longtime bandleader Cleto Escobedo III, which caused him to cancel several episodes.
Here's how those numbers shook out, with Colbert facing dips from the prior week.
- The Late Show - 2.15 million avg viewers; 172k demo
- Jimmy Kimmel Live! - 1.8 million avg. viewers; 223k demo
- The Tonight Show - 1.21 million avg. viewers; 141k. demo
For now, Jimmy Kimmel is leading the charge with the key advertising demo, while Stephen Colbert is drawing the biggest crowds through and through. And meanwhile, Jimmy Fallon is...also on TV each night.
For what it's worth, Fox News' Gutfeld! beat out all of the broadcast lads in terms of total average audience, with 2.78 million. Though its' 189k demo rating didn't quite stack up to Kimmel's.
