Late-Night Shakeup: Kimmel and Fallon See Gains as CBS’s Colbert Replacement Slumps

Since Stephen Colbert’s departure, CBS’s replacement Comics Unleashed has slumped, drawing 628,000 total viewers and 82,000 in the 18-49 demo, down 65% from Colbert’s final year in the same slot, while ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! and NBC’s Tonight Show gained viewers. Kimmel led the 11:35 p.m. hour with 2.185 million total viewers (295k in 18-49), up 53% in total viewers and 178% in the demo year over year; Fallon’s Tonight Show rose to 1.301 million total and 194k demo (+10% and +14%, respectively). CBS’s time-buy arrangement with Byron Allen’s Comics Unleashed means the network shifts an hour that was losing about $40 million annually into about $15 million in profit, a roughly $55 million swing, mitigating immediate concerns about the ratings gap. The CBS shift to the time-buy model follows The Late Show’s cancellation for financial reasons, and while Colbert’s exit created a clear ratings gap, CBS is positioning the model as the key to a more sustainable late-night economics despite the near-term viewership drop.