While some analysts have questioned the ongoing economic viability of late night shows on broadcast TV amid ongoing declines in linear viewing, new data from Tubular Labs suggests that these shows are still thriving on social media and that their future may lie in adopting a "social-media first" strategy.
Tubular Labs data reveals that since the start of 2025, late-night broadcast shows like “SNL”, “Jimmy Kimmel Live”, “The Late Show”, “Late Night” and “The Tonight Show” have combed for over 17 billion views across social video platforms. The research also indicates that 56 different videos from late night TV had at least 25 million views.
Declines in late night TV audiences has been cited as a major factor in the cancellation of CBS’ “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” after published reports citing anonymous sources claimed the show was losing $40 million or more a year.
The new data from Tubular Labs seems to offer a counter narrative that view. Its research highlights audiences are gravitating towards on-demand monologues and viral segments they can consume and share on their own time (instead of staying up late to catch live).
Tubular Labs reported that of the most-watched social videos from these shows, several were uploaded in October, including this Jimmy Fallon clip that racked up 51.6 million views on TikTok in just a few days after its release.
"SNL", despite critical questions of relevance over the last decade as streaming comedy grows, accounts for 14 videos of 25 million-plus views on its own. That included the top late-night video of the year: a skit featuring Pete Davidson and Timothy Chalamet that racked up over 63 million views, the researchers reported.
That might indicate these shows should be adopting a social-media first strategy for their future, given that these videos have massive reach, and even better opportunities for audience targeting than traditional TV, Tubular Labs reported.
The researchers also stressed that when “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” returned to the air in September, much was made about its TV ratings. Yet, as YouTube itself pointed out in the immediate aftermath, the bigger number was actually around Kimmel’s return monologue video on the platform. That clip has 22.7 million views, and is Kimmel’s most-seen video of 2025.
