Stephen Colbert’s Live ‘Late Show’ Tops Ratings for First Time Since February
CBS is grateful for the RNC
Tony Maglio | July 19, 2016 @ 8:55 AM
Last Updated: July 19, 2016 @ 10:15 AM
CBS
All “The Late Show” needed was a little “Colbert Report.”
Stephen Colbert topped the broadcast late-night leaderboard on Monday, marking the first time that’s happened since Feb. 15.
From 11:30 p.m. to 12:45 a.m. ET, the live “Late Show” averaged a 2.1 rating in the 56 overnight metered markets, up 24 percent from the same night last week. That’s the CBS show’s best overnight household rating since May 10.
Jimmy Fallon‘s “Tonight Show” landed a 2.0, while Jimmy Kimmel had a 1.5, according to Nielsen.
Among those ages 18-49, “The Late Show” averaged 0.5 rating, its biggest number in the 25 local people meter markets since that aforementioned mid-February date.
By that metric, Fallon bested Colbert with a 0.7. Kimmel put up a 0.4. The demo order was the same among adults 25-54.
Last night’s live “Late Show” followed the Republican National Convention’s opening evening. It featured an appearance by Jon Stewart and the reprisal of Colbert’s “Colbert Report” character from the Comedy Central days.
Donald Trump's 5 Best Hillary Clinton Attack Lines (Photos)
After a week of enduring Hillary Clinton's attack lines, Donald Trump struck back Wednesday. Spoiler alert: He'd like to link her to some scandals. We talked to experts about how effective his attack lines might be.
Getty Images
5. Trump called her "a world-class liar" and went on to elaborate.
"Just look at her pathetic email and server statements ... or her phony landing in Bosnia, where she said she was under attack but the attack turned out to be young girls handing her flowers," he said.
USC clinical professor of communications Gordon Stables told TheWrap the argument is strong among GOP voters, but it’s not rhetoric that changes a lot of opinions.
4. “Hillary says this election is about judgment. She's right. Her judgement [sic] has killed thousands, unleashed ISIS and wrecked the economy,” Trump tweeted.
“There is an argument to be made that the Clinton State Department part of an Obama administration approach to foreign policy, specifically in the Arab world, that was typified the idea of leading from behind,” Politico national politics reporter Eli Stokols told TheWrap. “ISIS has become a problem during the Obama administration. Trump isn’t going to talk about how the roots of it were planted by the Iraq war.”
“It’s a critique of the way Clinton has approached public life,” Stables said. “He’s trying to say there is something fundamentally corrupt about the way she’s approached public service.”
2. Trump called Clinton’s message "old and tired" before elaborating.
"Her message is that things can't change," Trump said. "My message is that things have to change -- and this is our one chance to do it and may be our only chance to do that change."
“He is trying to tap into frustration at both ends of the political spectrum,” Stables said. “Republicans who think their politicians are too moderate and liberal voters who feel politicians are too much in the center. It’s very much an appeal to disenfranchised Sanders voters.”
“Trump, as he will tell you, has made a career out of branding and marketing. There has never been anything subtle about it,” Stokols said. “There is not going to be anything subtle about the way he attacks Hillary Clinton.”
1. In response to Clinton's "I'm with Her" campaign slogan, Trump said, "I'm with you, the American people." "She thinks it's all about her -- I know it's all about you. I know it's all about making America great again for all Americans."
Stokols feels that Trump repurposed Clinton’s catch phrase to make her sound selfish and make himself sound like a populist.
“It hits a nerve with his base. The people who already like him, who listen to conservative talk radio and go to his rallies, they find this familiar. They like the rhetorical red meat,” he said. “But that’s no longer the audience.”
Getty Images
1 of 12
Which of Trump’s lines have the best chance of landing? We asked the experts
After a week of enduring Hillary Clinton's attack lines, Donald Trump struck back Wednesday. Spoiler alert: He'd like to link her to some scandals. We talked to experts about how effective his attack lines might be.