Stephen Colbert Courtesy CBS
Preliminary 'Late Show' numbers quickly settle from Tuesday's premiere, and 'Tonight' jumps to easily win among adults 18-49.
After a strong debut Tuesday, Stephen Colbert earned a less overwhelming win on Wednesday. Shedding 35 percent in the overnight metered market ratings, CBS' Late Show was virtually tied with NBC's Tonight.
Jimmy Fallon's The Tonight Show, bolstered by a visit from the comedian's pal and frequent viral video partner Justin Timberlake, also jumped in key demo of adults 18-49 — easily topping Colbert in Local People Meters. Final ratings later Thursday will likely find Colbert and Fallon evenly matched with audiences, with a slight advantage to Colbert, and the key demo in clear favor of Fallon.
Looking at the raw numbers, Colbert's overnight rating dropped from a 4.9 to a 3.2 in households. Fallon's jumped from a 2.4 to a 3.1 rating. In Local People Meters' demo measurement, Colbert lost half of his 18-49 showing. The episode was off by nearly half, from a 1.5 to a 0.8 rating.
It's still a vast difference from the type of competition seen between Fallon and Colbert's predecessor, David Letterman. His Late Show was relegated to second — or often third — place status behind Tonight. And Wednesday's Late Show showing is still more than double what Letterman brought in on the comparable night last year.
All non-Colbert 11:35 p.m. broadcasts were up on Wednesday, with ABC's Jimmy Kimmel also slightly lifted in his third-place slot.
Colbert's dips from the premiere are expected, but a demo loss to Fallon on night two has got to sting. The rest of the week could likely see the balance shift again — as Colbert welcomes Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday, and Fallon has Donald Trump on Friday.
At the very least, it's shaping up to be a much friendlier late-night battle. Fallon made a taped appearance on Colbert's Late Show premiere, returning the favor of when Colbert stopped by his 2014 Tonight debut.TV Ratings
