How Trevor Noah's 'Daily Show' Is Beating Jon Stewart's

One month down, about 187 more to go — that is, if new “Daily Show” host Trevor Noah hopes to catch up to predecessor Jon Stewart‘s incredible tenure.

So far, so good, according to Comedy Central President Michele Ganeless. “I couldn’t be happier,” she told TheWrap, adding that the new guy offers “a more global … millennial perspective.”

And Noah’s predecessor agrees. “He’s like a proud papa,” Ganeless said, summing up her recent conversation with the former host, who remains on-board with the switch from afar.

“We made the absolute right choice,” Ganeless said of Noah. “The show needed to evolve.”

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Where the show is going is younger and toward nonlinear platforms. These days, more than 40 percent of “The Daily Show” content is consumed via digital platforms, versus the 30 percent Stewart saw before the shift. That leap is even more than Ganeless had anticipated, she admitted in our interview.

Of course, internal metrics don’t quite make their way over to Nielsen, an unfortunate reality for the cable channel.

Across Noah’s first four weeks, “The Daily Show” is down 32 percent in the coveted 18-49 demographic and down 37 percent among total viewers compared to Stewart’s final quarter (minus his last week). That’s anything but insignificant.

Also Read: Trevor Noah Rips Fans Boycotting 'Star Wars' Over Diversity: 'Stop Complaining, Racists' (Video)

While Noah has been no Stewart as far as Nielsen is concerned, there are bright spots even per those possibly antiquated measurements.

Noah’s first four weeks delivered double-digit growth (up 20 percent) among adults 18-24 versus the final quarter of Stewart’s run. Filtering that further to just men of that age range, “The Daily Show” is up 32 percent. Those numbers are particularly impressive considering the diminishing TV viewing habits of the youngest adult demo.

While any advertiser or TV programmer would take the demo with the 25 extra years of range and purchasing power, Comedy Central swears by its millenials-first target as a way to break through all that other late-night noise.

Also Read: Trevor Noah Compares Donald Trump to African Dictators (Video)

Plus, those scary-looking losses also don’t automatically mean the Noah version is reaching fewer eyeballs or has less advertiser potential. This “Daily Show” has averaged 3 million full episode starts per week off-TV, with 750,000 of those consumers seeing episodes through until the very end.

Clearly, viewing for this vehicle is trending away from the 11 p.m. living room experience. Chromecast, Facebook and Xbox streams are all on the rise, and Android episode starts — up 44 percent — are outpacing those platforms. YouTube views have seen the same percentage rise versus an average Stewart week — and the still-evolving Snapchat’s 71 percent growth blows them all away in terms of rate.

The South African comic has also shifted linear viewership younger: two years on a median basis, to be exact. And the new users are diverse, much like their mixed-race, foreign host. More than a quarter of Noah’s adults 18-34 audience is African-American or Hispanic.

Also Read: Trevor Noah Praises 'Gangster' Hillary Clinton During Benghazi Hearing (Video)

Plus, Noah is a hit on Twitter, doubling Stewart’s weekly mentions. It’s the third-place late-night show on the social media platform, behind “The Tonight Show” and “@midnight.”

“We set up an ecosystem to serve millenials,” Ganeless summed up her big gamble. “Trevor came along at the perfect time to take advantage of that.”

34 'Daily Show With Jon Stewart' Correspondents and Contributors (Photos)

In honor of Stewart's retirement from Comedy Central's "Daily Show" on Aug. 6, here's a look at the dream team who helped make the best fake news program on TV a hit.
Comedy Central
Lewis Black (1996 - )
The "Back in Black" contributor has been there from the start.

Also Read: Lewis Black on Whitney Houston Death Coverage: Hours of Terrible Song Puns (Video)
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Stephen Colbert (1997-2005)
The long-time correspondent went on to host "The Colbert Report" and is replacing David Letterman on the "Late Show."
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Mo Rocca (1998-2003)
"The Daily Show" gave Rocca his start in television; he later appeared on "The Tonight Show" and "CBS This Morning."
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Vance DeGeneres (1999-2001)
DeGeneres, the older brother of Ellen DeGeneres, appeared on "Dollars and Cents" and "A Tale of Survival" segments.
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Nancy Walls (1999-2002)
Walls, who appeared on "We Love Showbiz" and "Dollars and Cents," is married to fellow former correspondent Steve Carell.
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Steve Carell (1999-2005)
Carell went on to star in "The Office," "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Despicable Me."

Also Read: Steve Carell, Moby Team With LA Mayor Eric Garcetti on Water Conservation Push (Video)
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Miriam Tolan (2000-2001)
Tolan starred in "The Heat" and "The Dictator."
Comedy Central
Matt Walsh (2001-2002)
Walsh appeared on "News You Can Utilize" and "Dollars and Cents" before graduating to HBO's "Veep."
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Lauren Weedman (2001-2002)
Weedman appeared on Dollars and Cents" and "We Love Showbiz" segments.
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Mary Birdsong (2002)

Birdsong had a brief stint as contributor.
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Rob Corddry (2002-2006)
Corddry appeared on "This Week in God" and "Come On!" segments before wading into "Childrens Hospital," two "Hot Tub Time Machine" movies and HBO's "Ballers."
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Ed Helms (2002-2006)

Helms recently starred in the 2015 comedy "Vacation."
Warner Bros.
Rachael Harris (2002-2003)
Harris appeared in "Mark Your Calendar" and "We Love Showbiz."
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Samantha Bee (2003-2015)
Bee, who married her castmate Jason Jones, has one of the show's longest runs as correspondent.
TBS
Bob Wiltfong (2004-2005)
Wiltfong also appeared on Dave Chappelle's show and "Late Night with Conan O'Brien."
Comedy Central
Dan Bakkedahl (2005-2007)
Bakkedahl was initially hired to replace Colbert.
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Jason Jones (2005-2015)
The husband of Samantha Bee famously appeared in "Are You Prepared?!?" and "Jason Jones 180" segments.
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Nate Corddry (2005-2006)

The younger brother of Rob was one half of the show's "Brother vs. Brother" segments.
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Dan Bakkedahl (2005-2007)
Bakkedahl was hired to replace Stephen Colbert.
Comedy Central
Rob Riggle (2006-2008)
Riggle was the senior military affairs correspondent.
E! Network
John Oliver (2006-2013)
After serving as Senior British Person and filling in for Stewart for several months as host, Oliver left to helm his own show, "Last Week Tonight" on HBO.
Comedy Central
John Hodgman (2006- )
Hodgman recurs as the show's Resident Expert and Deranged Millionaire.
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Aasif Mandvi (2006- )
Mandvi remains the Senior Middle East Correspondent.
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Larry Wilmore (2006-2014)
Wilmore served as the Senior Black Correspondent before leaving to host Comedy Central's "The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore."
Comedy Central
Wyatt Cenac (2008-2012)
Cenac was a senior correspondent who voiced the puppet version of former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele.

Also Read: Wyatt Cenac, Ana Gasteyer Join TBS Comedy Pilot ‘The Group’
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Kristen Schaal (March 2008 - )
Schaal, who now stars on HBO's "Last Man on Earth," is the women's issues correspondent.
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Josh Gad (2009-2011)
Gad served as a contributing correspondent for a brief time.
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Olivia Munn (2010-2011)
Munn served as the Senior Asian Correspondent on "The Daily Show."
Todd Cole/SELF
Al Madrigal (2011 - )
Madrigal is both the Senior Latino Correspondent and the California Correspondent.
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Jessica Williams (2012 - )
Williams doubles as the Senior Youth Correspondent and the Senior Beyoncé Correspondent.
Comedy Central
Michael Che (2014)
Che's stint on the show was cut short when he left to co-anchor the "Weekend Update" segment on "Saturday Night Live."

Also Read: Michael Che Debuts on ‘Weekend Update’ in Chris Pratt-Hosted ‘Saturday Night Live’ Season Opener (Video)
Comedy Central
Trevor Noah (2014-2015)
The show's Senior International Correspondent is slated to take over once Stewart retires.

Also Read: Jon Stewart’s ‘Daily Show’ By the Numbers: Hey, Trevor Noah, We’re Rooting for You
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Jordan Klepper (2014 - )
Klepper serves as the Senior Caucasian Correspondent.
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Hasan Minhaj (2014 - )
Minhaj is the show's Senior Indian Correspondent.
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Steve Carell, Jessica Williams, Lewis Black and Olivia Munn have all worked with Stewart during his 16-year run as host

In honor of Stewart's retirement from Comedy Central's "Daily Show" on Aug. 6, here's a look at the dream team who helped make the best fake news program on TV a hit.

View In Gallery

34 'Daily Show With Jon Stewart' Correspondents and Contributors (Photos)

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