A Sharp Decline for Jimmy Fallon’s ‘Tonight Show’<br />His program, “The Late Show” on CBS, has taken viewers away from Jimmy Fallon, the cheerful host of NBC’s storied<br />franchise, who has lost 21 percent of his audience year over year since the fall season began on Sept. 25.<br />Jimmy Fallon has lost on average about 700,000 total viewers per night in the past year, including<br />264,000 viewers ages 18 to 49, as Stephen Colbert’s overall viewership has increased.<br />A year ago, a battle between Mr. Fallon and Mr. Kimmel was almost unimaginable, given the venerable<br />NBC franchise’s lead of one million total viewers over ABC’s late-night offering.<br />During the sweeps period, he averaged 3.7 million total viewers a night — a 23 percent increase from a year ago.<br />Ever since Mr. Colbert leapfrogged Mr. Fallon in total viewers, NBC executives have emphasized that “The Tonight Show” is still the No.<br />A year ago, Mr. Colbert trailed Mr. Fallon in that demographic by roughly 364,000 viewers.<br />All three late-night network shows have shed viewers in the 18-to-49 demographic over the last year,<br />but Mr. Fallon’s program has lost significantly more than the other two.<br />During the current season, Mr. Kimmel — who, like Mr. Colbert, has made himself into<br />a politically engaged monologuist — has seen his audience grow by 4 percent.<br />In the November 2015 sweeps period — which coincided with Mr. Colbert’s shaky start as a network host — Mr. Fallon’s lead was nearly 500,000.
