Highest Rated Late Night Shows: Jimmy Fallon to Conan O'Brien

Given the ever so diverse spread that is late night comedy, in terms of humor – not race because most are Caucasian – as of late, the question of who has higher ratings tends to often come into play. But since much content lives online nowadays, it's tough to say whether or not ratings are of most importance in creating a successful television show. From Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show to Conan O'Brien's TBS series, it appears that viral is key. But do the networks agree?

Despite the blow-up of viral content, network execs are still keeping strong with their opinions that ratings are what makes television initially successful. Which, sure, makes sense.

The Hollywood Reporter recently released a breakdown of how each late night show is stacking up against one another. Naturally, it is not only a matter of preference among viewers that makes it more popular, but also various other factors that account for a show's success: i.e. the network, timeslot and, yes, the host.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon comes at the head of the list, garnering roughly 1.33M in ratings. He's followed by newcomer Stephen Colbert, who recently took the Late Show on CBS just a couple of months ago. And while he appears to be a bit distant from Fallon, THR's report notes that Colbert is still 50% up from David Letterman's Late Show this time last year.

The subsequent earners are as follows:

Jimmy Kimmel - Jimmy Kimmel Live, ABC - 763k
John Oliver - Last Week Tonight, HBO - 680k
Seth Meyers - Late Night, NBC - 615k
Trevor Noah - The Daily Show, Comedy Central - 609k
James Corden - The Late Late Show, CBS - 449k
Carson Daly - Last Call with Carson Daly, NBC - 369k
Larry Wilmore - The Nightly Show, Comedy Central - 326k
Andy Cohen - Watch What Happens Live, Bravo - 319k
Conan O'Brien - CONAN, TBS - 299k
Chris Hardwick - @midnight, Comedy Central - 262k

So, folks, any surprises?