Stephen Colbert got a lot of love for his “Russia Week.” The CBS late-night host, who documented his trip to St. Petersburg and Moscow, rolled out the segments for another big ratings win.
For the week of July 17-21, Colbert’s The Late Show averaged nearly 2.9 million viewers before any DVR lifts. Not only is that a 14 percent jump from the same week during the prior year, but it also marks his widest margin of victory over NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon since Colbert’s CBS premiere week nearly two years ago.
The Late Show outperformed Tonight by nearly half a million viewers — 450,000, to be exact — a boon after briefly losing its same-day winning streak to Tonight for one week earlier in the summer.
Tonight again maintained its lead among adults 18-49, though the key demo hauls were modest across the board during the summer months. Tonight averaged a 0.6 rating among adults 18-49, while The Late Show (and ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!) earned a 0.4 rating.
