Is Stephen Colbert Pushing Republican Viewers Away? Jimmy Fallon Not Concerned With Ratings War
Despite CBS' earlier hope for a ratings surge when they brought in Stephen Colbert to take on Jimmy Fallon, the former seems to be lagging way behind in viewership. If a recent survey is to be believed, the gap has nothing to do with either one's sense of humor.
"Fox & Friends" report delved into the possible reasons why Colbert isn't making as much of a hit as the network expected. Host Brian Kilmeade sat down with a past producer of "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno," Dave Berg and discussed the issue.
According to Berg, he was "concerned" about Colbert joining a program in the "major leagues." He further implied that the host's political views have something to do with the issue.
"He does have a liberal bent," he said, as reported by Independent Journal. "I was concerned from the very beginning that he may not be able to make the transition to the major leagues, network television, where you have to be even handed against Democrats and Republicans."
"Fox & Friends" latched on to Berg's comment and used surveys to determine whether the huge gap between Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Fallon's ratings have something to do with the two host's political inclinations.
Apparently, Fallon's audience has a more balance blend of Republicans, Democrats and independent voters. On the other hand, almost half of the people who tune in to watch Colbert are Democrats and only 13% of his viewership are Republicans.
Fox news further noted that his liberal views could be hurting the show and even implied that it could very well be shooing away viewers right into Fallon's arms.
On Dec. 14, the gap between the two shows ballooned to a staggering 1.4 million viewers.
As for Fallon, he's reportedly not that concerned about the ratings war. He previously told Ellen DeGeneres that he and Colbert will both win in this competition.
"He's just, as you know, one of the nicest guys out there, he told the daytime host. "And I think the more the merrier. I think it just brings more attention to late night and gets more people watching TV in general. So I think we all win. I mean, there's room for everybody."
Can Stephen Colbert still win over Jimmy Fallon? Should he change his political views to attract more Republicans to "The Late Show?"
