TONIGHT SHOW Wins Week of 4/30 In 18-49 with Biggest Margin vs. Colbert Since March

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" has taken the ratings week of April 30-May 4 in the key late-night demographic of adults 18-49, scoring "Tonight's" biggest percentage margin over "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" since mid-March, according to "live plus same day" figures from Nielsen Media Research.

"Tonight" won the 11:35 p.m. hour for the week over "Colbert" by a +27% margin in adults 18-49 (with a 0.52 rating vs. a 0.41) and versus "Jimmy Kimmel Live" by +44% (0.52 vs. 0.36). It's "Tonight's" biggest advantage over a week of "Late Show" originals since March 12-16 (+35%, 0.58 vs. 0.43) and its biggest versus a mostly original week of "Kimmel" since Feb. 5-9 (+91%, 0.84 vs. 0.44). Note that "Jimmy Kimmel Live" airs Friday encores.

"Tonight's" week was boosted by the Tuesday, May 1 telecast with guest Ariana Grande, which tied Monday's edition (0.55 each) as the highest-rated "Tonight" in three weeks (since Tuesday, April 10, 0.57) and topped all late-night programs as the most social episode of 2018 with 3 million total interactions. Year-to-date, "The Tonight Show" ranks as the #1 most social late-night series on television with 11.7 million total interactions. (Source: Nielsen Social -https://twitter.com/NielsenSocial/status/991756576276041729 Total interactions over Twitter, Facebook [owned only] and Instagram [owned only]).

For the week, "Tonight" delivered a three-week high in 18-49 (its best average since April 9-13, 0.53) and a four-week high in total viewers (with 2.334 million, best since April 2-6, 2.383 million).

Last week at 12:35 a.m. ET, "Late Night with Seth Meyers" outrated CBS' "The Late Late Show with James Corden" by a +27% margin in adults 18-49 (with a 0.28 rating vs. a 0.22).

For their head-to-head half-hour, "Late Night" beat ABC's "Nightline" in all key measures, including a margin of +32% in adults 18-49 (0.33 vs. 0.25 from 12:30 to 1 a.m. ET).

LATE-NIGHT WEEKLY AVERAGES
(According to in-home viewing figures from Nielsen Media Research for the week of April 30-May 4. Ratings reflect "live plus same day" data from Nielsen Media Research 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" 0.52 rating, 3 share
CBS "Late Show," 0.41/3
ABC "Kimmel," 0.36/2 *

12:35-1:05 a.m. ET
ABC "Nightline," 0.25/2

12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 0.28/2 *
CBS "Late Late Show," 0.22/2 *

1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 0.18/2 *

TOTAL VIEWERS

11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Tonight," 2.334 million viewers
CBS "Late Show," 2.918 million viewers
ABC "Kimmel," 1.869 million viewers *

12:35-1:05 a.m. ET
ABC "Nightline," 1.252 million viewers

12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 1.296 million viewers *
CBS "The Late Late Show," 1.272 million viewers *

1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 0.751 million viewers *

* Friday's "Kimmel," "Late Night," "Late Late Show" and "Last Call" were encores.

SEASON AVERAGES

ADULTS 18-49

11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Tonight" 0.66 rating, 4 share
CBS "Late Show," 0.60/4
ABC "Kimmel," 0.47/3

12:35-1:05 a.m. ET
ABC "Nightline," 0.30/2

12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 0.39/3
CBS "The Late Late Show," 0.28/2

1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 0.23/2

TOTAL VIEWERS

11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Tonight," 2.704 million viewers
CBS "Late Show," 3.869 million viewers
ABC "Kimmel," 2.276 million viewers

12:35-1:05 a.m. ET
ABC "Nightline," 1.403 million viewers

12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 1.566 million viewers
CBS "The Late Late Show," 1.390 million viewers

1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 0.826 million viewers

SELECTED CABLE RESULTS, WEEK OF APRIL 30-MAY 4

NATIONAL ADULT 18-49 RATING

Comedy Central, 11-11:30 p.m., "The Daily Show," 0.23
Comedy Central, 11:30-midnight ET, "The Opposition," 0.11

TBS, 11 p.m.-midnight, "Conan," 0.12 **

Adult Swim, 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. ET, 0.59
Adult Swim, 12:30-1:30 a.m. ET, 0.45

Each adult 18-49 rating point equals 1.28 million viewers.

TOTAL VIEWERS

Comedy Central, 11-11:30 p.m., "The Daily Show," 0.812 million
Comedy Central, 11:30-midnight ET, "The Opposition," 0.322 million

TBS, 11 p.m.-midnight, "Conan," 0.351 million **

Adult Swim, 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. ET, 1.172 million
Adult Swim, 12:30-1:30 a.m. ET, 0.898

** "Conan" was preempted on Tuesday.

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