Colbert Report Most Viewed Talk Show

“The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report” Finish the Second-Quarter as the Most Viewed Late Night Talk Shows.

NEW YORK, June 30, 2011 — “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” has accomplished what no other late night talk show has been able to do since the turn of the millennium, finishing a full quarter as the most-viewed show among Adults 18-49, breaking a victory streak of at least 40 consecutive quarters by
“The Tonight Show.” (source: Nielsen Media Research, most current data, original episodes only, 3/28/11-6/26/11)

In addition to this historic achievement, the Emmy® and Peabody® Award-winning “The Daily Show,” along with the similarly-lauded “The Colbert Report,” finished the second quarter as the most-viewed late night talk shows in all of television, both broadcast and cable, among Adults 18-34, Adults 18-24, Men 18-34 and Men 18-24. The two COMEDY CENTRAL series also topped all cable late night talk shows among total viewers with “Colbert” wrapping up the quarter just behind “Daily Show” among Adults 18-49 in cable.

For the second quarter of 2011, “The Daily Show” averaged 2.2 million total viewers and a 1.2 A18-49 rating (1.3 million A18-49 viewers). Versus 2Q 2010, “The Daily Show” grew +9% in total viewers, with ratings growth across all key demos including A18-49 (up +7%), A18-34 (+4%), A18-24 (+7%), M18-34 (+5%) and M18-24 (+11%).

“The Daily Show’s” 1.295 million Adult 18-49 viewers led all late night talk shows in the demo for the quarter, the first time a show other than “The Tonight Show” has topped this key demographic for a full quarter since at least 1Q 2000 (COMEDY CENTRAL research data goes back only as far as 1Q 2000).

“The Colbert Report” also had a memorable second quarter, finishing with an average audience of 1.5 million total viewers (up +6% vs. 2Q 2010) and a 0.9 A18-49 rating (up +5%), which translated to 960,000 A18-49 viewers. Like its lead-in, “The Colbert Report” dominated among young men, finishing the quarter behind only “The Daily Show” in all of late night, broadcast and cable, among A18-34 (up +1%), A18-24 (up +2%), M18-34 (up +6%) and M18-24 (up +5%), providing COMEDY CENTRAL with the top two spots across all of television in these key demos.