“The Daily Show With Trevor Noah” was the only late-night talk show to grow in the advertiser-sought 18-49 demographic’s TV ratings for the first quarter of 2017. Take that, Conan.
As a matter of fact, Q1 2017 was Trevor Noah’s most-watched and highest-rated quarter thus far. So has Noah found his voice, or is President Trump piloting these strong Nielsen numbers? It’s probably a combination of the two — split the credit however your personal purview dictates.
Noah’s Comedy Central series averaged 1.5 million total viewers per episode over the past three months — that’s up 13 percent from 2016’s Q1. With a 0.72 average rating in the above-mentioned main demo, “The Daily Show” grew 10 percent year over year.
Among overall linear audience members, only Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show” jumped more, growing 20 percent. But even he lost 2 percent in 18-49 ratings.
However you slice it, this White House administration has proven a comedic boon for the South-African funnyman — but he’s not the only one in the day part with a pretty singular focus these days. “Late Night With Seth Meyers” goes just as hard against Trump — that series remained flat in Q1 2016. However, the NBC program fell 11 percent in the main demo. What gives?
Well, Meyers’ lead-in, “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” flopped 26 percent in the key demo. That’s not going to help any schedule, regardless of how good your “Closer Look” is. It’s actually a minor miracle that Meyers was unchanged among total viewers, considering Jimmy Fallon’s 11:35 p.m. series dumped 19 percent of its average audience.
If you were wondering (or even if not), Noah’s previous-best quarter was his previous quarter. One could point to that fact as evidence he’s found his footing — but remember, that’s the quarter Donald Trump was actually elected to our nation’s top office. Again, it’s all how you look at it — just ask “SNL” if its truly getting better after 41 previous years, or if this surge stems from the Oval Office. (As opposed to Lorne Michaels’ office.)
Noah’s show itself can literally be looked at in a number of ways. Digitally, “The Daily Show” is up 37 percent from the prior year’s initial 90 days, and video views across Facebook and YouTube are both up 200 percent. The No. 1 late-night talk show among young adults 18-49 can take on any technology that Silicon Valley throws at it.
Now all Noah needs is a permanent partner at 11:30 p.m. At least we know whom he’ll soon be passing the baton to on Thursdays — the POTUS himself, sort of. Click here to find out what the hell we’re talking about.