or


[10/01/15 - 11:16 AM]
"The Tonight Show" Outperforms "Late Show" in 18-49 and Total Viewers for Season Premiere Week of Sept. 21-25
NBC spins the late-night numbers for the week of September 21-25.

[via press release from NBC]

"THE TONIGHT SHOW" OUTPERFORMS "LATE SHOW" IN 18-49 AND TOTAL VIEWERS FOR SEASON PREMIERE WEEK OF SEPT. 21-25

Both Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers Up From a Week Ago as Network's Late-Night Franchises Remain Firmly #1 in Respective Timelsots

NEW YORK - Oct. 1, 2015 - "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" has won premiere week of the 2015-16 season (Sept. 21-25), growing week to week to top CBS's "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" in both adults 18-49 and total viewers despite Colbert's boost from Tuesday's appearance by Donald Trump.

For a full five-day ratings week, it's Fallon's best performance in five months in 18-49 rating (1.05, best since April 6-10, 1.06) and most-watched in 10 weeks (3.581 million, best since July 13-17, 3.740 million). Those comparisons exclude the high-rated four-day holiday week of Sept. 7-11 (when "Tonight" guests included Donald Trump and Justin Timberlake, and Thursday's high-rated NFL overrun boosted ratings), with Monday's Labor Day results excluded.

Versus the prior week, Fallon was up +6% in 18-49 (1.05 vs. 0.99 for Sept. 14-18). Also, despite much higher-rated "Late Show" competition this year versus last, Fallon finished within 5% of his premiere week result of one year ago in 18-49 (1.05 vs. 1.10) and within 8% in total viewers (3.581 million vs. 3.894 million).

At 12:35 a.m. ET, "Late Night with Seth Meyers" delivered its biggest regular five-day week in seven months in 18-49 (0.54, best since Feb. 16-20, 0.57, excludes Labor Day week, Sept. 7-11). At 1:35 a.m. ET, "Last Call with Carson Daly" scored its high in 10 months (0.35, best since Nov. 17-21, 2014, 0.37, excludes Labor Day week). In total viewers, it was Meyers' high for a regular five-day week in six months (1.610 million, best since March 2-6, 1.614 million, excludes Labor Day week) and Daly's high in 10 months (975,000, best since Nov. 17-21, 2014, also 975,000, excludes Labor Day week).

Week to week, Meyers grew +17% in 18-49 (0.54 vs. 0.46) and Daly increased by +35% in 18-49 (0.35 vs. 0.26).

Versus the season premiere week last year, Meyers increased by +8% in 18-49 (0.54 vs. 0.50) and +6% in total viewers (1.610 million vs. 1.515 million), while Daly grew year-to-year by +13% in 18-49 (0.35 vs. 0.31) and +18% in total viewers (975,000 vs. 829,000).

Despite later start times, "Meyers" finished within 0.05 of a rating point last week of "Jimmy Kimmel Live" in 18-49 (0.54 vs. 0.59) and "Last Call" finished within 0.03 of both "Late Late Show" and "Nightline" (0.35 vs. 0.38).

WEEKLY AVERAGES

(According to in-home viewing figures from Nielsen Media Research for the week of Sept. 21-25. Ratings reflect "live plus same day" data from Nielsen Media Research unless otherwise noted. Season-to-date figures are averages of "live plus seven day" data except for the two most recent weeks, which are "live plus same day.")

ADULTS 18-49
11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Tonight" 1.05 rating, 5 share
CBS "Late Show," 0.78/4 *
ABC "Kimmel," 0.59/3
12:35-1:05 a.m. ET
ABC "Nightline," 0.38/2
12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 0.54/4 *
CBS "The Late Late Show," 0.38/3 *
1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 0.35/3 *

Each adult 18-49 rating point equals 1.27 million viewers.

TOTAL VIEWERS
11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Tonight," 3.581 million viewers
CBS "Late Show," 3.217 million viewers *
ABC "Kimmel," 2.501 million viewers
12:35-1:05 a.m. ET
ABC "Nightline," 1.595 million viewers
12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 1.610 million viewers *
CBS "The Late Late Show," 1.357 million viewers *
1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 0.975 million viewers *

* Friday's "Late Night" and "Last Call" were encores. Thursday's "Late Show" and "Late Late Show" were delayed by an NFL overrun.

SELECTED CABLE RESULTS, WEEK SEPT. 21-25

NATIONAL ADULT 18-49 RATING
Comedy Central, 11-11:30 p.m. ET, "@midnight," 0.19
Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m.-midnight ET, "The Nightly Show," 0.16
TBS, 11 p.m.-midnight, "Conan," 0.20
Adult Swim, 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. ET, 0.80
Adult Swim, 12:30-1:30 a.m. ET, 0.61

Each adult 18-49 rating point equals 1.27 million viewers.

TOTAL VIEWERS
Comedy Central, 11-11:30 p.m., "@midnight," 0.370 million
Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m.-midnight ET, "The Nightly Show," 0.381 million
TBS, 11 p.m.-midnight, "Conan," 0.420 million
Adult Swim, 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. ET, 1.599 million viewers
Adult Swim, 12:30-1:30 a.m. ET, 1.362 million viewers





  [october 2015]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· SHOWATCH
(series past and present)
· DEVWATCH
(series in development)
· MOVIEWATCH
(tv movies and mini-series)





most recent ratings | view all posts
[09/12/25 - 05:31 AM]
ESPN Networks Deliver Most-Watched WNBA Regular Season Ever
ESPN networks aired eight of the top 10 most-watched WNBA games during the 2025 season, highlighted by its most-watched WNBA game ever - 2.7 million viewers for Chicago Sky at Indiana Fever on May 17 (ABC).

[09/10/25 - 02:09 PM]
ESPN Delivers Most Viewed Tennis Telecast of the Year and Most Viewed US Open Since 2022
The Men's Championship averaged 3 million viewers on ABC, up 82% vs. 2024 while the Women's Championship averaged 2.4 million on ESPN, up 50% vs. 2024.

[09/09/25 - 03:43 PM]
On Pace for Record Year, ESPN Formula 1 Viewership Earns 10th Event High of '25 Season
F1 races are averaging 1.4M viewers this season across ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC, ahead of the all-time series record average of 1.21M that was set in 2022.

[09/09/25 - 03:29 PM]
ABC Scores Three of the Top Four Best Audiences of College Football's Week 2; "College GameDay" Delivers Second Most-Watched Regular Season Show on Record
Michigan/Oklahoma (9.7 million viewers) was ABC's most-viewed Week 2 game since 2006.

[09/09/25 - 03:17 PM]
FOX's "Big Noon Saturday" & "Big Noon Kickoff" Up Big Through Week 2
Iowa-Iowa State scored 4,278,000 viewers on FOX, most-watched game in the noon window.

[09/09/25 - 02:26 PM]
NBC Sports Posts Largest Two-Game NFL Kickoff Weekend Audience in a Decade & Second Best All-Time, Averaging 26.5 Million Viewers Across NBC & Peacock
NBC's 2025 NFL Kickoff Weekend average viewership trailed only 2015, as Steelers-Patriots in NFL Kickoff '15 and Cowboys-Giants in the Sunday night opener averaged 27.2 million viewers.

[09/09/25 - 02:01 PM]
FOX NFL Delivers Most-Watched Week 1 NFL Singleheader on Any Network Since 2015
17.9 million viewers tuned in to watch Sunday's FOX NFL singleheader - the most-watched Week 1 NFL singleheader on any network since 2015.

[09/09/25 - 01:43 PM]
"20/20" Ranks No. 1 Across the Board for Friday, Sept. 5
Airing against NFL competition on YouTube and U.S. Open Tennis on ESPN, "20/20" turned in its strongest Adults 25-54 performance since June and best Total Viewer and Adults 18-49 numbers since July.

[09/09/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of September 1: "Wednesday" Season 2 Does the Dead Dance to No. 1 in Top 10
"My Life with the Walter Boys" collectively brought in another 10.9 million views, putting the series at No. 2 on the English TV list.

[09/09/25 - 07:00 AM]
TLC's "90 Day: Hunt for Love" Draws Over 11.6M Viewers Across Platforms
The series emerged as one of the network's most-watched new titles of the year and currently ranks as the #2 freshman series on cable in 2025 to date among P/W25-54.

[09/08/25 - 02:45 PM]
The "2025 MTV Video Music Awards" Delivers Its Largest Television Audience Since 2019, Up +42% from Last Year
The telecast was seen by more than 5.5 million viewers on the CBS Television Network, simulcast on MTV and streaming on Paramount+.

[09/08/25 - 09:40 AM]
Cowboys-Eagles on NBC & Peacock Is 2nd Most-Watched NFL Kickoff Game
The exciting back-and-forth put the Eagles ahead 21-20 at halftime and averaged 34.3 million viewers on NBC and Peacock from 9:30-9:45 p.m. ET (late second quarter) - marking the largest peak audience ever for an NFL Kickoff Game.

[09/05/25 - 09:01 AM]
ESPN Networks Command Historic Viewership with Second Most-Watched Labor Day Weekend in at Least 30 Years
From Saturday, August 30 through Monday, September 1, fans consumed 16.8 billion minutes across ABC, ESPN and ESPN2, up 25 percent year-over-year.

[09/03/25 - 04:14 PM]
"Big Noon Kickoff" Scores Monster Week 1 Audience on FOX
Starting at 11:00 AM ET, "Big Noon Kickoff" scored 3,756,000 viewers on FOX.

[09/03/25 - 04:04 PM]
ESPN and ABC Rewrite Week 1 Viewership History Books, "College GameDay" Shatters All-Time Audience Record
Across the full weekend, ABC averaged 8.6 million viewers across four games, marking its best Kickoff Weekend on record.