RATINGS: THE TONIGHT SHOW Rules The Feb. 24-28 Ratings Week In 18-49, Hits A Six-Week High

"The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" has decisively won the late-night ratings week of Feb. 24-28 versus the ABC and CBS competition, hitting a six-week high in the key demographic of adults 18-49, according to "live plus same day" figures from Nielsen Media Research.

"Tonight's" 0.36 rating for the week is the show's best since the week of Jan. 13-17 (0.37). Fallon's +0.05 margin over CBS' "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" (0.31) is the biggest versus a week of "Late Show" originals since Jan. 6-10 (+0.05).

"Tonight" also won the week over the ABC and CBS timeslot competition in adults 25-54, adults 18-34 and all key adult-female demographics.

"Tonight's" week was led by the Feb. 24 telecast featuring the superstar Korean Pop band BTS, which hit a Monday season high for "Tonight" with a 0.41 rating in adults 18-49.

It's the highest-rated Monday "Tonight" original since April 22, 2019 (0.42 with guests Nathan Lane, Pitbull, Philippe Cousteau and Lenny Marcus). In total viewers, the 1.945 million persons for the Feb. 24 edition makes it the most-watched Monday "Tonight" since Dec. 16, 2019, the night of "Voice 17's" performance finale.

Wednesday's instalment, featuring guests David Beckham, Guy Fieri and Doja Cat, and following a strong primetime crossover event between "Chicago Fire" and "Chicago P.D.," generated "Tonight's" top 18-49 rating of the week, a 0.44.

Last week at 12:35 a.m. ET, "Late Night with Seth Meyers" ranked #1 versus CBS' "The Late Late Show with James Corden" in adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and every other key demographic (including a tie in men 18-34). Season to date, "Late Night" ranks #1 versus "Late Late Show" and "Nightline" in all key ratings measures.

At 1:35 a.m., "A Little Late with Lilly Singh" equaled its 10-week high in 18-49 (0.15, best since the week of Dec. 16-20, 2019, 0.18) and set a new 10-week high in total viewers (695,000, best since 782,000 for Dec. 16-20, 2019).

Digital: Propelled by Monday's BTS Subway Special, "Tonight" achieved its best week of Youtube viewing ever in both Total and New video views. A total of 12 "Tonight" videos accumulated more than 1 million Youtube views each, including BTS videos, a performance by social star Doja Cat, fan-favorite guest games and interviews of Hailey Bieber, Nick Jonas and David Beckham. "Tonight" once again ranked as the #1 most-viewed Entertainment TV program on YouTube, with 101 million Total Youtube views (Source: ListenFirst Media Brand Rankings, LF // TV UNIVERSE // EPISODIC; Video Views; Brand Type: TV Shows, 02/24/20-03/01/20. Excludes Children's Programming and WWE).

Fueled by Monday's special, which scored as "Tonight's" most social episode ever, "Tonight" also once again placed as the week's #1 most-social late-night series on television for the week, amassing 6.6 million Total Interactions across Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (Source: Nielsen Social SCR, Program Ranker; Linear Window; Series Only; 02/24/20-03/01/20; excludes news and sports).

For the 2020 year-to-date, "Tonight" retains its crown as the #1 most-viewed entertainment TV program on YouTube, with 620 million Total Views. That's up +54% from the same time-frame last year, and 142 million views ahead of the nearest competitor (Source: ListenFirst Media Brand Rankings, LF // TV UNIVERSE // EPISODIC; Video Views; Brand Type: TV Shows, 01/01/20-03/01/20. Excludes Children's Programming).

Also looking at the 2020 calendar year, "Tonight" ranks as the #1 most-social late-night series on television, having earned 12.4 million Interactions across Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (Source: Nielsen Social SCR, Program Ranker; Linear Window; Series Only; 01/01/20-03/01/20; excludes news and sports).

"Late Night with Seth Meyers" is up +33% in Total Youtube views versus the same period last year, having amassed 134 million views so far in 2020.

"A Little Late with Lilly Singh" experienced its best week of new Youtube views since Jan. 13. The Lana Condor / Dwayne Johnson video powered the show's new views for the week and already ranks as the show's #3 most-viewed Youtube video of 2020. On the younger-skewing Instagram Platform, "A Little Late" remains the #1 most-social freshman Entertainment program of 2020, having accumulated over 1.4 million Interactions (Source: ListenFirst Content Rankings, LF // TV UNIVERSE // EPISODIC; Content Responses; Instagram; Brand Type: TV Shows; Season 1; 01/01/20-03/01/20).

LATE-NIGHT WEEKLY AVERAGES
(According to viewing figures from Nielsen Media Research for the week of Feb. 24-28. Ratings reflect "live plus same day" data unless otherwise noted. Season-to-date figures are averages of "live plus seven day" data except for the two most recent weeks, which are "live plus same day.")

ADULTS 18-49

11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Tonight" 0.36 rating, 3 share
CBS "Late Show," 0.31/3
ABC "Kimmel," 0.30/3 *

12:35-1:05 a.m. ET
ABC "Nightline," 0.18/2

12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 0.21/2 *
CBS "Late Late Show," 0.16/2 *

1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC "A Little Late with Lilly Singh," 0.15/2 *

TOTAL VIEWERS

11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Tonight," 1.833 million viewers
CBS "Late Show," 2.729 million viewers
ABC "Kimmel," 1.733 million viewers *

12:35-1:05 a.m. ET
ABC "Nightline," 1.075 million viewers

12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 1.113 million viewers *
CBS "The Late Late Show," 1.055 million viewers *

1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC "A Little Late with Lilly Singh," 0.695 million viewers *

* Friday's "Kimmel," "Late Night," "Late Late Show" and "A Little Late" were encores.

SEASON AVERAGES

ADULTS 18-49

11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Tonight" 0.40 rating, 3 share
CBS "Late Show," 0.44/4
ABC "Kimmel," 0.34/3

12:35-1:05 a.m. ET
ABC "Nightline," 0.21/2

12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 0.24/3
CBS "The Late Late Show," 0.20/2

1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC "A Little Late with Lilly Singh," 0.15/2

TOTAL VIEWERS

11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Tonight," 1.993 viewers
CBS "Late Show," 3.635 million viewers
ABC "Kimmel," 1.929 million viewers

12:35-1:05 a.m. ET
ABC "Nightline," 1.131 million viewers

12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 1.312 million viewers
CBS "The Late Late Show," 1.254 million viewers

1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC "A Little Late with Lilly Singh," 0.684 million viewers

SELECTED CABLE RESULTS, WEEK OF FEB. 24-28

NATIONAL ADULT 18-49 RATING

Comedy Central, 11-11:30 p.m., "The Daily Show," 0.21
Comedy Central, 11:30-midnight ET, "Lights Out with David Spade," 0.11 **

TBS, 11-11:30 p.m., "Conan," 0.14

Adult Swim, 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. ET, 0.33
Adult Swim, 12:30-1:30 a.m. ET, 0.27

Each adult 18-49 rating point equals 1.29 million viewers.

TOTAL VIEWERS

Comedy Central, 11-11:30 p.m., "The Daily Show," 0.640 million viewers
Comedy Central, 11:30-midnight ET, "Lights Out with David Spade," 0.261 million viewers **

TBS, 11-11:30 p.m., "Conan," 0.377 million viewers

Adult Swim, 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. ET, 0.648 million viewers
Adult Swim, 12:30-1:30 a.m. ET, 0.513 million viewers

** Tuesday's "Lights Out" was delayed to midnight and is excluded from these averages.

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