Jimmy Kimmel appears to be taking the throne of late night king following Stephen Colbert’s ouster.
A month after the end of The Late Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live! viewers have risen to their highest number of the previous eight years, clocking in at an average of 2.02 million, a 24% increase over last year’s viewership with a 29% jolt in the 18-49 demographic, according to a report by The Wrap. That puts Kimmel ahead of NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night with Seth Meyers.
However, The Wrap notes that Kimmel had gotten a boost from lead-ins from the Stanley Cup and NBA Finals, which were the most watched of the basketball event since 1998. Kimmel’s NBC competitors have also gotten an injection of viewers since Colbert’s exit. Fallon gained 19% more viewers year-over-year to 1.3 million the first week Colbert was off air, while Meyers got a more modest 7% increase from last year, according to the report.
