Jimmy Kimmel's Ratings Are Up, Jimmy Fallon's Are Down
by EG
Donald Trump insists that the attacks on him by late-night hosts are "unfunny," but it's the late-night host who has been the most incisively critical of Trump lately who's seen the biggest boost in his ratings. Jimmy Kimmel Live! has enjoyed a significant increase in ratings since Kimmel has made emotional statements in opposition to Trump's recent actions, and Kimmel is now in a strong third place among late-night network shows. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert remains the most-watched late-night show, and Jimmy Fallon, who is the least political of the network hosts, has seen ratings for his The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon fall by nearly a third.
There are no guarantees in late night. Nothing better illustrates that than the start of the 2017-18 season, where Stephen Colbert is now the most-watched host, once-dominant Jimmy Fallon is down by 31 percent and dark horse Jimmy Kimmel is taking a competitive stand.
Late-night ratings from the first two weeks of the new season are in stark contrast to those just a year ago, when few (if any) had a clue as to how much the characters of the 2016 presidential election would still be figuring into monologues, viral clip bait and even interviews. The late-night ratings race of the Trump era is unquestionably driven by viewer interest in current events and instant hot takes. And even though he's still in third place, ABC's Kimmel is starting to reap those rewards.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! is the only 11:35 p.m. telecast up by both key measures this season, with viewership up by nine percent and his showing among adults 18-49 up by four percent. The second stat makes Kimmel especially unique. Both Fallon and Colbert have lost viewers in the key demo, even though the latter's total audience is up — a fact that's been exhaustively covered since February. Kimmel's lean into political conversation, most notably the health-care debate and (most recently) gun control, is not something many would have predicted even after Donald Trump's surprise election. But it does not appear to be alienating viewers. He even won the first night of the season, in overnight ratings, a rarity for Kimmel when he's not lifted by ABC's annual coverage of the NBA Finals.
Stephen Colbert still holds a 16 percent advantage over No. 3 Kimmel among adults 18-49, though demos have not been much of a concern for his CBS telecast.
Read the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.
Who is your favorite late-night host? Let us know in the comment section below.