Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers Dominate Late-Night Ratings Again in Q2

James Corden falls behind Craig Ferguson’s 2014 pace despite Letterman finale boost

Fallon Meyers

Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers have concluded another quarter that left the late-night competition in the dust.

“The Tonight Show” averaged a 1.04 rating in the key adults 18-49 demographic, and 3.573 million viewers overall for 2015’s second quarter. That was 68 percent higher than Jimmy Kimmel’s average demo rating, and 32 percent better than the ABC late-night talk show in total viewers.

CBS has run its “Summer Showcase” at 11:30 p.m. ever since David Letterman retired, which “Tonight” topped by a 121 percent demo margin, and 33 percent in overall audience. That demo percentage becomes another 68 percent advantage when combined with “The Late Show’s” final push. In total viewers, however, Fallon’s advantage slips to just seven percent when counting Dave.

“Late Night,” Seth Meyers‘ talk show an hour later, averaged a 0.44 demo rating and 1.408 million viewers overall, beating CBS’s “Late Late Show” (0.33) by a 33 percent demo difference. The total viewer edge also went to Meyers, but that was just a two percent cushion over James Corden. In their head-to-head half-hour from 12:30 a.m. to 1 a.m., Meyers outscored ABC’s “Nightline” by 28 percent in the main demo.

Speaking of Corden, year-over-year, the new “Late Late Show” host is actually down a bit already — by a negative 8 percent in the demo and minus 1 percent in total viewers — versus his predecessor Craig Ferguson. And that’s including a Corden boost from Letterman’s finale during the quarter.

To be fair, both Fallon and Meyers are down somewhat versus their year-ago quarters. There are some explanations though for NBC to hang its hat on: For starters, there was likely an Olympics hangover boosting 2014’s Q2. Plus, this year, the CBS competition was boosted by Letterman’s finale, as mentioned before. Over on ABC, Kimmel and “Nightline” got a little help from a particularly strong NBA Finals.

“Tonight” has won the 11:30 hour for 14 quarters in a row in adults 18-49, going back to 2011 Q4. It’s won the 11:30 hour for 18 quarter in a row in total viewers, going back to the Q4 of 2010.

“Late Night” has topped the 12:30 hour for 22 quarters in a row in adults 18-49, going back to a tie in 2009’s Q4. That show has won the 12:30 hour for 18 quarter in a row in total viewers, going back to the Q4 of 2010.

The streak for “Late Night” does not include the 30-minute-long “Nightline,” a fairly apples-to-oranges and quite complex comparison when considering overall time slots.

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