The New York Times reports things are not happy at late night NBC:
Stephen Colbert, who has made Mr. Trump a nightly target, assumed the top position in the ratings race in February and has only increased his lead since then. His program, “The Late Show” on CBS, has taken viewers away from Jimmy Fallon, the cheerful host of NBC’s storied franchise, who has lost 21 percent of his audience year over year since the fall season began on Sept. 25. At the same time, Jimmy Kimmel has made ratings gains in the 11:35 p.m. slot on ABC.
Could it have something to do with the infamous "hair fluff" Jimmy gave Donald Trump last year? Yes. Liberal blogs like this one are much less likely to highlight a clip from a comedy show that treats Trump like a funny celebrity (or hosts Milo Yiannopolis in order to be 'edgy' -- Bill Maher take notice) and that has an impact on whether audiences think about watching later.
Mindful of Mr. Fallon’s sunny nature, NBC executives had hoped that Mr. Colbert’s surge in the wild early days of the Trump presidency would die down once the national mood had settled. They envisioned a time when this pair of temperamentally different hosts would trade victories week to week. But in the closing days of 2017, audiences have not returned to the network for Mr. Fallon’s wide-eyed style.
Indeed, the November numbers show Mr. Colbert widening the gap, with a lead over Mr. Fallon of 1.1 million viewers.
Once the national mood had settled? Wow. Just wow. I guess while these NBC executives weren't paying attention to Matt Lauer's office door, they weren't paying attention to, well, anything else, either. You can't market "escapism" to people in a panic about losing health insurance. Somehow "Miley Cyrus Week" doesn't cut it when you realize Puerto Ricans are still without power and the so-called president is making racial slurs during White House ceremonies.
What you can do is issue a big "eff you Trump" notice via comedy, something Colbert, Meyers, and especially Jimmy Kimmel have done well lately.
