Overview
- Trump’s 108-minute State of the Union averaged about 32.6 million viewers across 15 networks, down from 36.6 million last year but slightly above Joe Biden’s 2024 tally of 32.2 million.
- On The Late Show, Stephen Colbert mocked the decline and quipped that he would “cancel” the president, a nod to CBS’s decision to end his own show.
- Colbert’s post-address broadcast rose 7% year over year to 1.968 million viewers in Live+Same Day, according to Nielsen.
- Other late-night shows also grew versus last year: Jimmy Kimmel Live! up 21% to 1.721 million, The Tonight Show up 16% to 973,000, Late Night with Seth Meyers up 31% to 800,000, and The Daily Show up 15% to 435,000.
- Live+3 ratings are expected to lift totals once delayed viewing is included, and CBS still plans to end The Late Show in May.