Stephen Colbert opened big on his first night at the helm of CBS’ “The Late Show.” In Nielsen’s 56 overnight metered markets, which cover about 70% of U.S. TV households, Tuesday’s hourlong-plus telecast averaged a 4.9 household rating/13 share. It easily dominated the late-night competition and marked a 123% increase from “The Late Show’s” season premiere last year in David Letterman’s final season as host.
NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” dropped to second place with a 2.4/6 while ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” delivered a 1.4/4.
“The Late Show” ran six minutes long in its inaugural outing. The big turnout for Colbert’s launch gave a lift to its 12:35 a.m. companion “Late Late Show with James Corden.” Corden’s hour delivered 1.3/5, elbowing past NBC’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers” (1.1/4)
More detailed ratings information for “The Late Show” will be available later today.
