Fallon Ratings Soar With Guest Donald Trump

Jimmy as The Donald

Jimmy Fallon got a Donald Trump bump as the GOP presidential hopeful’s appearance took “The Tonight Show” to its highest ratings for a Friday broadcast in 18 months.

According to Variety, NBC’s “Tonight Show” brought in a 3.6 household rating/9 share in Nielsen’s 56 overnight metered markets, which cover about 70% of U.S. TV households. In adults 18-49, Fallon averaged a 1.3/7. That was Fallon’s highest mark for a Friday broadcast since Feb. 28, 2014, shortly after his debut at the “Tonight Show” desk.

The week-one duel between Fallon and CBS’ new “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert ended with “Late Show” drawing a 2.8 rating/7 share. That was its lowest household mark since it opened to a whopping 6.6 million viewers on Tuesday.

But it was notable that the “Late Show” held steady Friday in its 18-49 average (0.8) of the past three nights despite the lure of Trump across the dial. And Friday’s episode was up 47% from CBS’ showing the same night last year.


Colbert’s guests on Friday included Amy Schumer and Stephen King. Trump is set to visit “The Late Show” on Sept. 22.