Colbert’s Ratings Spike After Cancellation News But Fox’s Gutfeld Leaves Him in the Dust with Major Gains
Screenshots via Fox News (L)/CBS (R)
Fox News host Greg Gutfeld continues to post stellar ratings, even topping Stephen Colbert who saw a significant bump after news of his show’s cancellation.
Colbert’s Late Show enjoyed a bump to 2.4 million viewers just days after it was announced the show would be ending in the coming months. For the year thus far, Colbert has averaged around 1.9 million viewers, according to Nielsen data. In the coveted 25-54 demo, it’s averaged just under 300,000.
The bump is impressive, but Fox News’ Gutfeld! continues to dominate other late night programs. When Late Show drew 2.4 million viewers less than a week after news of its cancellation, Gutfeld drew 3.1 million viewers. For the year thus far, the show has averaged 3.1 million viewers and nearly 400,000 in the key demo. Since the announcement of Late Show’s cancellation, Gutfeld has posted 11% and 4% gains in overall viewers and the key demo.
Gutfeld has the advantage of airing at 10 p.m., earlier than traditional late night programming. It is often touted as a conservative alternative to other late night shows. Where Colbert holds an advantage over Gutfeld is that Late Show sports a much higher budget.
Colbert has seen his ratings topple his more direct competition. Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, and Seth Meyers have all averaged lower in viewers and in key demo ratings for the year. Kimmel has averaged 1.5 million, Fallon is at 1.1 million, and Meyers has averaged about 800,000.
Colbert’s show was cancelled following CBS’ parent company Paramount settling a lawsuit from President Donald Trump. Shortly after news of the cancellation, a Paramount merger with Skydance was approved by the FCC. The string of events have led to Colbert fans trying to tie the cancellation to Trump.
Colbert has been lashing out at his network over their settlement with Trump, calling them “morally bankrupt” after Trump claimed the company offered $20 million in service “programming” on top of their original $16 million. The company denied the additional funds.
