'' The Late Show '' debuted to 8.26 million viewers ( with Live +7 ) according to Nielsen Media Research , beating out all late-night competition . The show 's highest ratings to date — and highest for the '' Late Show '' franchise — were achieved by a live episode that ran after Super Bowl 50 in 2016 , which averaged 21.1 million viewers . Despite this , the show 's initial ratings trailed competitor '' The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon '' , while remaining ahead of '' Jimmy Kimmel Live '' . While Colbert still managed more young viewers than Letterman in his first few months , analyst Bill Carter wrote that his " opening splash seemed to dry faster than expected . " He suggested this was due to little social media presence ( where his competitor , Fallon , surged ) . The show began to increasingly focus on politics , with more viewers tuning in to several live episodes following the 2016 Republican National Convention
2016 Republican National Convention
2016 Republican National Convention
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert