3.7 million viewers for night two of Stephen Colbert, down 44% from debut

After a big opening night, ratings for the “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” came back to earth Wednesday.

Colbert averaged 3.66 million viewers for his second CBS program, according to Nielsen, down 44% from the 6.55 million who watched his heavily promoted debut on Tuesday. NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” was back on top for the night with 4.06 million viewers.

Fallon was also first among viewers aged 18 to 49 with a 1.2 rating compared to .8 for Colbert.

ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” scored 1.85 million viewers and a .5 in the 18 to 49 category, bouncing back a bit after taking a hit Tuesday due to sampling for Colbert.

Jimmy Fallon’s guests Wednesday included Justin Timberlake, Ellen DeGeneres and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. Colbert’s guests were Scarlett Johannson, Elon Musk and Kendrick Lamar.

The battle continues this week as Colbert has Vice President Joe Biden as his guest; Republican presidential nomination front-runner Donald Trump is scheduled to appear with Fallon on Friday.

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