Last Thursday’s episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, where Colbert announced the show’s cancellation, was its highest-rated episode of 2025. Nielsen live-plus-three data shows it drew 3,079,000 viewers on CBS, more than doubling the audience of its closest timeslot competitor, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, guest-hosted by Jelly Roll.
Traditional ratings exclude views on Paramount+ and social media, where Colbert’s cancellation announcement garnered 5 million YouTube views alone.
Monday’s episode, featuring Colbert addressing the cancellation fallout with cameo appearances from five other late-night hosts, is expected to perform even stronger, with initial ratings due soon.
Fox News’ Gutfeld! outdrew Colbert in total viewers on Thursday, though it airs earlier at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, when more viewers are available. However, Fox News reaches 60 million homes compared to CBS’s 200 million.