The battle for 12:35 a.m. supremacy had a bit of a different feel in Q2 2016 compared to the same quarter a year ago. ABC’s late night news juggernaut Nightline, which dominated Q2 2015 across the board, won the Q2 2016 in total viewers but finished second in the A25-54 and A18-49 demos. Nightline was up 2 percent in total viewers, but fell 3 percent in A25-54 and fell 2.5 percent in A18-49 versus Q2 2015.
Late Night with Seth Meyers finished No. 1 in the demos this past quarter. NBC’s 12:35 a.m. show was up 25 percent in A25-54, and up 24 percent in A18-49 from the same quarter last year. Late Night also gave Nightline a run for its money in the total viewers category, up 19 percent year-over-year.
That being said, Late Night was down this past quarter from Q1 2016, while Nightline grew 2 percent in total viewers and 4 percent in A18-49.
CBS’s The Late Late Show with James Corden finished third in all three categories. Corden was down 11 percent in total viewers, down 5.5 percent in A25-54, and down 6 percent in A18-49 from the same quarter a year ago. Corden and Meyers were tied in the demos this quarter last year.
Q2 2016 numbers:
| Show | Network | Total Viewers | A25-54 | A18-49 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nightline | ABC | 1.566 M | 600,000 | 477,000 |
| Late Night | NBC | 1.445 M | 656,000 | 521,000 |
| Late Late Show | CBS | 1.233 M | 494,000 | 395,000 |
Nightline performed well in the final week of Q2 2016, winning the timeslot in total viewers for the 4th straight week, and delivering a 11 percent improvement in total viewers from the same week last year. Late Night with Seth Meyers remained No. 2 in total viewers and No. 1 in A25-54 and A18-49, while Corden stayed in third.
Nightline is anchored by Dan Harris, Juju Chang and Byron Pitts.
Week of June 20, 2016:
| Show | Network | Total Viewers | A25-54 | A18-49 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nightline | ABC | 1.452 M | 526,000 | 411,000 |
| Late Night | NBC | 1.299 M | 579,000 | 467,000 |
| Late Late Show | CBS | 1.180 M | 500,000 | 396,000 |