The one and only “Late Show With David Letterman” will end its 22-year historic run on Wednesday night — and a look back on the show’s numbers truly quantifies the legendary host’s TV and pop cultural impact.
The ratings for “Late Show” have seen a decline as the late-night landscape’s competition got stiffer and social media and streaming options evolved viewing habits over the years. But that evolution is even more distinct when 2015 is compared to Letterman’s early days behind the desk. Ratings from “The Late Show’s” 1992-1993 season debut compared to his final season certainly illustrate the generational switch as millennials of the younger ratings demographic have turned to Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart and Letterman’s successor Stephen Colbert, as well as viral stars Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel.