Jimmy Fallon probably wishes that NBC had “Thursday Night Football,” and not CBS.
Last night, following a largely watched NFL Kickoff Game that aired on NBC as part of its “Sunday Night Football” package, Fallon’s “Tonight Show” topped his CBS and ABC competition combined in the key 18-49 demographic.
Of course, tune-in was largely boosted by Patriots-Steelers carryover, causing the reigning late-night leader to be pushed back nearly an hour.
“The Tonight Show” scored a 1.52 demo rating and 4.3 million total viewers, despite being delayed to 12:27 a.m. ET “The Late Show” had a 0.82 rating and 3.9 million viewers, while “Jimmy Kimmel Live” received a 0.49 and 2.2 million viewers. The latter talkers were in their normal 11:35 p.m. ET hour-long time slot.
Despite finishing runner-up in both the main demo and in total eyeballs on his third night in the new gig, Colbert can rest assured that the NFL on Thursday nights will be boosting him going forward, and not Fallon. Sorry, Kimmel, you don’t even get one game over on ABC.
Plus, Colbert actually rose from his second night to his third, up 6 percent in the main demo and 8 percent in total viewers on Thursday.
10 Fiercest 'Lip Sync Battle' Performances: From Dwayne Johnson to Anne Hathaway (Photos)
Jimmy Fallon kicked off the season with "Jump in the Line" by Harry Belafonte, then tackled Madonna's "Like a Prayer" with the aid of a church choir.
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Dwayne Johnson took rival contestant Jimmy Fallon's trash-talking and decided to "Shake It Off" with Taylor Swift, before bringing out the bellbottoms for the Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive."
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Common went all out with "I Want You Back" by Jackson 5 and ended even higher with Lionel Ritchie's "All Night Long."
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John Legend busted out Juvenile's "Slow Motion" before dusting off the Hammer pants for "U Can't Touch This."
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Anne Hathaway gave the crowd a little "Love" from Mary J. Blige before bowling the audience over with Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball."
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Emily Blunt showed her hip-hop roots with Blackstreet's "No Diggity" before nailing an insane Janis Joplin impression for "Piece of My Heart."
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Anna Kendrick revealed a secret love for Emily Blunt with One Direction's "Steal My Girl," before enlisting Jennifer Lopez's help with "Booty."
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John Krasinski showed off his sick marionette skills for N*Sync's "Bye Bye Bye," then revealed his sexy side by dancing in a glittery dress for Tina Turner's "Proud Mary."
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Mike Tyson gives the audience "Satisfaction" courtesy of the Rolling Stones before (kind of) busting out Salt n' Pepa's "Push It."
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Terry Crews unleashed his masculinity with Run-DMC's classic "Sucker M.C.'s" before revealing his softer, more feminine side with Vanessa Carlton's "A Thousand Miles."
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Boasting the highest non-scripted premiere in Spike’s history and a second season already ordered, the spin-off from Jimmy Fallon’s ”Tonight Show“ has proved to be an instant success
Jimmy Fallon kicked off the season with "Jump in the Line" by Harry Belafonte, then tackled Madonna's "Like a Prayer" with the aid of a church choir.