Stephen Colbert’s victory lap ends at one.
NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday scored a 3.1 household rating in the metered markets, surging 29 percent night-to-night to virtually tie CBS’ The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, which in its second outing slipped 35 percent to a 3.2 household rating. ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! ticked up to a 1.5.
In the coveted 18-49 demo, Fallon rose 50 percent to a 1.2 household rating while Colbert in Night 2 dropped 33 percent, to a 0.8. Kimmel inched up to a 0.5.
Fallon — with his go-to buzz-booster(/crutch?) Justin Timberlake on hand — hit a five-month high in the metered markets and was up 19 percent from his summer average, while Colbert again delivered a marked improvement (plus 113 percent) over Late Show’s year-ago numbers.
Leading out of The Tonight Show, NBC’s Late Night With Seth Meyers was up 27 percent night-to-night, hitting a more than four-month high and reclaiming the lead from CBS’ The Late Late Show With James Corden, which slipped from a 1.3 household rating to a 1.1.
