– Ten weeks after his debut as host of The Late Show, Stephen Colbert is falling behind in the late night race, Mediaite reports. And the answer why seems obvious: "Old Comedy Central habits die hard." Colbert is alienating conservative viewers with jokes at the expense of such targets as people who oppose gay marriage or the resettlement of Syrian refugees, according to the Washington Post. A new survey of 1,000 late-night viewers from the Hollywood Reporter found only 17% of people tuning into Colbert are Republicans. And 72% of Colbert viewers say they'd vote for Clinton over Trump. Meanwhile the split between Democrat and Republican is pretty much even among viewers of Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel. That could be important for the future of CBS' Late Show because—while it was always getting trounced by NBC and Fallon—it's now being beaten regularly by ABC and Kimmel, Mediaite reports. Colbert is finding a niche in political satire—something both Kimmel and Fallon tend to stay away from—but he's going after Republican targets far more often. While that was expected on Comedy Central, on network TV it has "a result about as predictable as whom and what his political targets will be during each night." According to the Post, Colbert needs to find balance if he's going to succeed on CBS. "Colbert knows how to bring down the house by painting conservatives as a bunch of backward xenophobes," the Post writes. "But huge chunks of the electorate probably won’t be laughing along"

Expand this summary.
For Stephen Colbert, the late-night honeymoon appears to be over. 
  
 The dose of reality comes upon tracking the last three weeks available on the ratings front. But first, a quick review of where we were and how we got here on the late-night competition front: outside of Colbert’s opening week, NBC’s Jimmy Fallon and The Tonight Show have beaten his CBS competition every week with plenty of room to spare. No surprise there, as even CBS execs concede they had no illusions of beating Fallon as Colbert and The Late Show find their groove. But that’s not to say Colbert has disappointed anyone at the Tiffany Network, either, finishing a solid second ahead of ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel in both total viewers and the demo in September and much of October. 
  
 Most importantly for Colbert, he’s found a niche in offering what the Jimmys can’t really offer (particularly Fallon): consistent political satire and more substantive interviews with big political guests (his interview with Joe Biden as the vice president openly displayed his inner conflict on running for for president was widely-praised in this space and pretty much everywhere else). But therein lies the rub: most sit-downs with politicians don’t exactly result in riveting television (outliers like Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton to a lesser extent notwithstanding). And Colbert has shown almost no willingness to hit both sides of the aisle even close to equally… it’s simply not in his DNA. 
  
 Consequently, according to a Hollywood Reporter poll just released, Colbert has successfully alienated self-described Republicans who see what’s being offered on a nightly basis and exploring or staying with other options. And with the country as polarized as it is, the host is thereby saying goodbye to half his potential audience, which can’t be a sound business model. 
  
 Per The Hollywood Reporter‘s survey of 1000 late-night viewers aged 18-65, only 17 percent of those identified themselves as Republican watch Colbert, while attracting 47 percent of those who identify as Democrats, a 30-point gap. But more liberals watch late-night TV than stuffy, old conservatives, right? Guess again. In Kimmel’s case, the split is 34 percent Democrats, 33 percent Republicans. In Fallon’s case, it’s 36-31 Democrats. 
  
 Why so even-keeled? Because Kimmel and Fallon go through great lengths to be apolitical. To equally mock or simply find other props and topics to use for comedy outside of political humor and (oftentimes in Colbert’s case) commentary on how stupid/awful/inept Republicans are. It’s a smart approach if the goal is to reach as broad as audience as possible, something Colbert never cared to achieve going back to his Comedy Central days and The Colbert Report. In character, out of character… Colbert is Colbert. And that’s fine on Comedy Central, even downright expected. But network TV? Not so much… 
  
 The ratings result of said approach is now beginning to come to fruition as the bloom comes off the rose ten weeks since his debut. Over the first six weeks since launching, Colbert beat Kimmel by an impressive 40 percent in the demo. But the week of October 19-23 saw Kimmel win the week over Colbert during his now-annual trek to Brooklyn, pushing the CBS host down to third place. The following week, Colbert beat Kimmel, but only by seven percent (“only” because the margin was once 40 percent a few weeks ago). And in the first week on November (2nd-6th), Kimmel won again over Colbert, besting him by 5% in both adults in the key 18-49 rating (0.60 vs. 0.57) and total viewers (2.626 million vs. 2.492 million). That’s a 45-point swing… a disturbing trend for CBS that won’t likely suddenly change now that the Late Show has settled in. Are Colbert’s numbers better than Letterman’s numbers a year ago? Of course, given the low bar. There is a reason why Dave retired (besides age) after all. 
  
 Moving forward for the time being, the margin is slim enough for Colbert to still win some weeks here and Kimmel to take some others there. Both, of course, will be looking up at Fallon, who has made everyone quickly forget–particularly those running things at 30 Rock–about even former #1 Jay Leno sitting in the same chair (decimating Colbert by 60% in 18-49 rating–0.91 vs. 0.57–last week alone). 
  
 The Late Show started off strong, as is usually the case when hype and an adoring press are at your back. But taking a side night-in-and-night-out on the political front is something the great Johnny Carson never did, nor Leno. Both achieved great success in doing so. Colbert is cut from a different cloth. Old Comedy Central habits die hard or not at all. 
  
 He’s now the owner of a 30-point gap between Democrats and Republicans who watch. His competition is almost evenly split in the same poll. 
  
 Stephen Colbert now drops to third place: a result about as predictable as whom and what his political targets will be during each night. 
  
 — — 
  
 Follow Joe Concha on Twitter @JoeConchaTV 
  
 This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author. ||||| Five years ago, in THR's first issue, polling firm Penn Schoen Berland evaluated the post-primetime landscape. Now, with only one host still in his seat, it went back to learn who is watching whom and why the atheists love Stephen Colbert. 
  
 This story first appeared in the Nov. 27 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe. 
  
 In November 2010, the first issue of the relaunched Hollywood Reporter magazine included results of an extensive survey of late-night TV viewers. Respondents were asked their honest opinions of the genre's biggest names — NBC's Jay Leno, CBS' David Letterman and Comedy Central's power duo of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, among them. The results revealed aging audiences and high hopes for TBS' new star, Conan O'Brien. Five years later, the late-night landscape is completely different. Only ABC's Jimmy Kimmel remains host of the show he had then, as Jimmy Fallon inherited The Tonight Show, Colbert took over Late Show and new, younger players James Corden, Trevor Noah and Seth Meyers are making a play for viewers. 
  
 For the magazine's fifth anniversary, THR, working again with measurement firm Penn Schoen Berland, polled viewers to determine what they watch and why. The firm conducted an online survey Nov. 6 through Nov. 10 of 1,000 late-night viewers ages 18 to 65 (split equally between men and women). "What a tumultuous five years it has been!" says lead pollster Jon Penn, noting the biggest winner has been Fallon: "He's the unpredictable, cool dude you want to be friends with, and his silly, witty and nonoffen­sive humor is connecting with Leno fans and young, married, moderate women." 
  
 The Great Late-Night Poll: Where the Hosts Stand Now |||||  
  
 Stephen Colbert is host of the 'The Late Show' on CBS. (Invision/AP) 
  
 The expectation was laid out, plain as can be, in the first reports of Stephen Colbert’s hiring by CBS to succeed David Letterman as host of “The Late Show.” 
  
 From the New York Times on April 11, 2014: 
  
 The news of Mr. Colbert’s appointment inflamed conservative commentators like Rush Limbaugh, who said CBS had “declared war on the heartland of America.” But CBS executives made it clear that they expected Mr. Colbert to broaden his appeal when he moved to the medium of late night on a network. 
  
 Broader appeal. That’s what Colbert — famous for his satirical portrayal of a conservative commentator on Comedy Central’s “Colbert Report” — is supposed to be going for in his new job. It’s important because, even on an average night on CBS, Colbert is playing to a bigger audience (more than 3 million viewers) than he did on his best night on cable (2.5 million for his curtain call last December). 
  
 Back when he was hired, there was a good deal of chatter about just how liberal Colbert actually was. He admitted during his time at the "Daily Show" that he had discovered his liberal politics there, but even some conservatives seemed to respect his brand of comedy, and there was actually relatively little backlash against a guy whose faux conservative alter ego was hardly flattering for the right side of the political spectrum. 
  
 And yet, two months into the gig, the 51-year-old funnyman could be alienating real-life conservatives with his persistent brand of lefty wisecracks. And that could be a problem for CBS, which, like all of the major networks, will want to attract Democratic and Republican viewers throughout the next year of presidential electioneering. 
  
 In the opening week of November, for the first time since his Sept. 8 debut, Colbert fell to third place in the critical 18-to-49-year-old ratings demographic. Jimmy Fallon, host of NBC’s “Tonight Show,” has been the runaway leader for most of the fall season, but this was the first time Colbert trailed ABC’s "Jimmy Kimmel Live." Last week, it happened again. 
  
 A survey of late-night comedy viewers, conducted Nov. 6-10 and published Friday by the Hollywood Reporter, offered insight into what might be going on. Colbert’s CBS audience is 47 percent Democrat and just 17 percent Republican, according to the findings of D.C.-based polling firm Penn Schoen Berland. 
  
 Compare Colbert’s partisan breakdown with the nearly even splits of Fallon (36 percent Democrat/31 percent Republican) and Kimmel (34/33), and it’s apparent that Colbert’s competitors do the whole broad-appeal thing better than he does. For now, at least. 
  
 CBS did not respond to an inquiry about Colbert’s ability to attract a wide audience during the campaign. But the current dramatic skew could have something to do with stuff like this: 
  
 Remember, as we’ve already told you, opposition to the resettlement of Syrian refugees is hardly a fringe position. 
  
 There’s also stuff like this: 
  
 Support for same-sex marriage has risen dramatically in recent years, but more than a third of the country still opposes it. Again, this isn't a fringe population. 
  
 Colbert knows how to bring down the house by painting conservatives as a bunch of backward xenophobes. He’s one of the best at it. But huge chunks of the electorate probably won’t be laughing along — or, worse, even tuning in. Not unless he balances things out. |||||
– Tio veckor efter debuten som programledare för The Late Show ligger Stephen Colbert efter i senkvällsloppet, rapporterar Mediaite. Och svaret varför verkar uppenbart: "Gamla Comedy Central vanor dör hårt." Colbert fjärmar konservativa tittare med skämt på bekostnad av sådana mål som personer som motsätter sig homoäktenskap eller vidarebosättning av syriska flyktingar, enligt Washington Post. En ny undersökning av 1000 sena kvälls-tittare från Hollywood Reporter fann att endast 17% av människor som stämt in i Colbert är republikaner. Och 72% av Colbert tittarna säger att de skulle rösta på Clinton över Trump. Samtidigt är splittringen mellan demokrat och republikan ganska mycket även bland tittare av Jimmy Fallon och Jimmy Kimmel. Det kan vara viktigt för framtiden för CBS' Late Show eftersom – medan det alltid var att få trunced av NBC och Fallon – det nu blir misshandlad regelbundet av ABC och Kimmel, Mediaite rapporterar. Colbert hittar en nisch i politisk satir – något som både Kimmel och Fallon tenderar att hålla sig borta från – men han ger sig på republikanska mål mycket oftare. Även om det förväntades på Comedy Central, på TV har det "ett resultat ungefär lika förutsägbart som vem och vilka hans politiska mål kommer att vara under varje natt." Enligt Posten måste Colbert hitta balans om han ska lyckas på CBS. "Colbert vet hur man får ner huset genom att måla konservativa som ett gäng bakåtsträvande xenofober", skriver Posten. "Men stora delar av väljarna förmodligen inte kommer att skratta tillsammans" Expandera denna sammanfattning.
“Ten weeks after his debut as host of The Late Show, Stephen Colbert is behind in the late-night race,” reports Mediaite. And the answer why seems obvious: "Old Comedy Central habits die hard." Colbert alienates conservative viewers with jokes at the expense of such targets as people who oppose gay marriage or resettlement of Syrian refugees, according to the Washington Post. A new survey of 1000 late-night viewers from Hollywood Reporter found that only 17% of people suing Colbert are Republicans. And 72% of Colbert viewers say they would vote for Clinton over Trump. At the same time, the split between Democrat and Republican is quite much even among viewers of Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel. It may be important for the future of the CBS' Late Show because—while it was always getting trunced by NBC and Fallon—it is now being beaten regularly by ABC and Kimmel, Mediaite reports. Colbert finds a niche in political satire—something that both Kimmel and Fallon tend to stay away from—but he goes after Republican goals much more often. Although expected at Comedy Central, on television it has "a result about as predictable as who and what his political goals will be during every night." According to the Post, Colbert must find balance if he is to succeed at CBS. "Colbert knows how to get the house down by painting conservatives as a bunch of backward xenophobes," writes Posten. "But much of the voters probably won't laugh together" Expand this summary.
För Stephen Colbert verkar den sena smekmånaden vara över. Realitydosen kommer efter att ha spårat de senaste tre veckorna tillgängliga på tittarsiffrorna. Men först, en snabb recension av var vi var och hur vi kom hit på sena natten konkurrensfront: utanför Colberts öppningsvecka, NBC: s Jimmy Fallon och The Tonight Show har slagit sin CBS tävling varje vecka med gott om utrymme att skona. Ingen överraskning, som även CBS chefer medger att de inte hade några illusioner av att slå Fallon när Colbert och The Late Show hittar sitt spår. Men det är inte att säga att Colbert har gjort någon besviken på Tiffany Network, heller, avslutar en solid sekund före ABC: s Jimmy Kimmel i både totala tittare och demo i september och stora delar av oktober. Viktigast för Colbert, han har hittat en nisch i att erbjuda vad Jimmys inte riktigt kan erbjuda (särskilt Fallon): konsekvent politisk satir och mer innehållsrika intervjuer med stora politiska gäster (hans intervju med Joe Biden som vicepresident visade öppet sin inre konflikt på kandidering för president var allmänt prisad i detta utrymme och ganska mycket överallt annars). Men däri ligger gnuttan: de flesta sit-downs med politiker inte exakt resulterar i nitande TV (ytterligare som Donald Trump eller Hillary Clinton i mindre utsträckning oaktat). Och Colbert har visat nästan ingen vilja att träffa båda sidor av gången ens nära lika ... det är helt enkelt inte i hans DNA. Följaktligen, enligt en Hollywood Reporter undersökning som just släppts, Colbert har framgångsrikt alienerat självbeskrivna republikaner som ser vad som erbjuds på en nattlig basis och utforska eller bo med andra alternativ. Och med landet så polariserat som det är, tar värden därmed farväl av halva sin potentiella publik, vilket inte kan vara en sund affärsmodell. Per The Hollywood Reporter undersökning av 1000 sena kvälls-tittare i åldern 18-65, bara 17 procent av dem identifierade sig som republikanska titta Colbert, samtidigt som locka 47 procent av dem som identifierar sig som demokrater, en 30-punkts gap. Men fler liberaler ser på TV än gamla konservativa. Gissa igen. I Kimmels fall är splittringen 34 procent demokrater, 33 procent republikaner. I Fallons fall är det 36-31 demokrater. Varför så likkälad? Eftersom Kimmel och Fallon går igenom stora längder för att vara opolitiska. Att lika håna eller helt enkelt hitta andra rekvisita och ämnen att använda för komedi utanför politisk humor och (ofta i Colberts fall) kommentarer om hur dumma/hemska/odugliga republikaner är. Det är ett smart tillvägagångssätt om målet är att nå så bred publik som möjligt, något Colbert aldrig brydde sig om att uppnå gå tillbaka till sin Comedy Central dagar och The Colbert Report. Colbert är Colbert. Och det är bra på Comedy Central, även rent förväntat. Men tv-bolag? Inte så mycket... Resultatet av den strategin börjar nu bli verklighet när blomningen kommer av rosen tio veckor sedan debuten. Under de första sex veckorna sedan sjösättningen slog Colbert Kimmel med imponerande 40 procent i demo. Men veckan den 19-23 oktober såg Kimmel vinna veckan över Colbert under sin nu årliga vandring till Brooklyn, och knuffade ner CBS-värden till tredje plats. Veckan därpå slog Colbert Kimmel, men bara med sju procent (“bara” eftersom marginalen var en gång 40 procent för några veckor sedan). Och under den första veckan i november (2:a-6:e), vann Kimmel igen över Colbert, och slog honom med 5% i både vuxna i nyckel 18-49 betyg (0,60 mot 0,57) och totala tittarna (2,626 miljoner mot 2,492 miljoner). Det är en 45-punkts swing... en oroande trend för CBS som sannolikt inte plötsligt kommer att förändras nu när Late Show har bosatt sig. Är Colberts siffror bättre än Lettermans siffror för ett år sedan? Naturligtvis, med tanke på den låga baren. Det finns en anledning till att Dave gick i pension (förutom ålder) trots allt. För tillfället är marginalen tillräckligt liten för att Colbert ska vinna några veckor här och Kimmel ta några andra dit. Båda kommer naturligtvis att titta upp på Fallon, som har fått alla att snabbt glömma-särskilt de som kör saker på 30 Rock-om även tidigare #1 Jay Leno sitter i samma stol (decimera Colbert med 60% i 18-49 betyg–0,91 mot 0,57–sista veckan ensam). The Late Show började starkt, som vanligtvis är fallet när hype och en beundrande press är på din rygg. Men att ta en sida natt-i-natt-ut på den politiska fronten är något som den store Johnny Carson aldrig gjorde, inte heller Leno. Båda nådde stor framgång i detta. Colbert är skuren ur en annan duk. Gamla Comedy Central vanor dör hårt eller inte alls. Han är nu ägare till en 30-punkts gap mellan demokrater och republikaner som tittar. Hans tävling är nästan jämnt delad i samma opinionsundersökning. Stephen Colbert sjunker nu till tredje plats: ett resultat ungefär lika förutsägbart som vem och vad hans politiska mål blir under varje natt. — — Följ Joe Concha på Twitter @JoeConchaTV Det här är ett åsiktsstycke. De åsikter som uttrycks i den här artikeln är bara författarens. För fem år sedan, i THR:s första nummer, utvärderade valfirman Penn Schoen Berland post-primetime landskapet. Nu, med bara en värd kvar på sin plats, gick det tillbaka för att lära sig vem som bevakar vem och varför ateisterna älskar Stephen Colbert. Denna berättelse publicerades första gången i tidskriften The Hollywood Reporter i november 27. För att få tidningen, klicka här för att prenumerera. I november 2010 innehöll det första numret av den nylanserade tidningen Hollywood Reporter resultat av en omfattande undersökning av sena TV-tittare. Respondenterna tillfrågades sina ärliga åsikter om genrens största namn — NBC:s Jay Leno, CBS' David Letterman och Comedy Centrals maktduo av Jon Stewart och Stephen Colbert, bland dem. Resultaten avslöjade åldrande publik och höga förhoppningar på TBS nya stjärna, Conan O'Brien. Fem år senare är nattlandskapet helt annorlunda. Endast ABC:s Jimmy Kimmel förblir programledare för den show han hade då, då Jimmy Fallon ärvde The Tonight Show, Colbert tog över Late Show och nya, yngre spelarna James Corden, Trevor Noah och Seth Meyers gör en pjäs för tittarna. Till tidningens femårsjubileum, THR, som återigen arbetade med mätfirman Penn Schoen Berland, tillfrågade tittarna för att avgöra vad de tittar på och varför. Byrån genomförde en nätundersökning 6 nov till 10 nov. av 1 000 sena natt-tittare i åldrarna 18 till 65 år (delas lika mellan män och kvinnor). "Vilket tumult fem år det har varit!" "Han är den oförutsägbare, coola snubben du vill vara vän med, och hans löjliga, kvicka och nonoffensiva humor har kontakt med Leno-fans och unga, gifta, moderata kvinnor." The Great Late-Night Poll: Where the Hosts Stand Now . Stephen Colbert är programledare för The Late Show på CBS. (Invision/AP) Förväntningen lades ut, tydlig som kan vara, i de första rapporterna om Stephen Colberts anställning av CBS för att efterträda David Letterman som värd för "The Late Show." Från New York Times den 11 april 2014: Nyheten om Mr Colberts utnämning inflammerade konservativa kommentatorer som Rush Limbaugh, som sade CBS hade "förklarat krig mot hjärtat av Amerika." Men CBS chefer gjorde det klart att de förväntade sig att Mr Colbert att bredda sin vädjan när han flyttade till medium för sent på natten på ett nätverk. Bredare vädjan. Det är vad Colbert – berömd för sin satiriska skildring av en konservativ kommentator på Comedy Centrals "Colbert Report" – ska satsa på i sitt nya jobb. Det är viktigt eftersom, även på en genomsnittlig kväll på CBS, Colbert spelar för en större publik (mer än 3 miljoner tittare) än han gjorde på sin bästa kväll på kabel (2,5 miljoner för hans draperi samtal förra december). När han anställdes pratades det mycket om hur liberal Colbert faktiskt var. Han erkände under sin tid på "Daily Show" att han hade upptäckt sin liberala politik där, men även vissa konservativa tycktes respektera hans komedimärke, och det blev faktiskt relativt lite bakslag mot en kille vars fauxkonservativa alter ego knappast var smickrande för höger sida av det politiska spektrumet. Och ändå, två månader in på spelningen, kan den 51-årige lustigkurren ha fjärmat sig från verkliga konservativa med sitt ihärdiga märke av vänstervridna vitsar. Och det kan vara ett problem för CBS, som, liksom alla de stora nätverken, kommer att vilja locka demokratiska och republikanska tittare under hela nästa år av presidentval. I öppningsveckan i november, för första gången sedan sin 8 september-debut, föll Colbert till tredje plats i den kritiska 18-till-49-åriga tittarsiffrorna demografiskt. Jimmy Fallon, programledare för NBC:s "Tonight Show", har varit förrymd ledare under större delen av höstsäsongen, men detta var första gången Colbert spårade ABC:s "Jimmy Kimmel Live." Förra veckan hände det igen. En undersökning av sena kväll komedi tittare, som genomfördes 6-10 november och publicerades fredag av Hollywood Reporter, erbjöd inblick i vad som kan vara på gång. Colberts CBS publik är 47 procent demokrat och bara 17 procent republikan, enligt resultaten från DC-baserade valfirman Penn Schoen Berland. Jämför Colbert partisan haveri med nästan ens splits av Fallon (36 procent demokrat/31 procent republikan) och Kimmel (34/33), och det är uppenbart att Colbert konkurrenter gör hela bred-appeal sak bättre än han gör. För tillfället, åtminstone. CBS svarade inte på en förfrågan om Colberts förmåga att locka en bred publik under kampanjen. Men den nuvarande dramatiska skevheten kan ha något att göra med sådant här: Kom ihåg, som vi redan har sagt er, att motstånd mot vidarebosättning av syriska flyktingar knappast är en marginell position. Det finns också saker som detta: Stöd för samkönade äktenskap har ökat dramatiskt under de senaste åren, men mer än en tredjedel av landet fortfarande motsätter sig det. Återigen, det här är ingen utkantsbefolkning. Colbert vet hur man får ner huset genom att måla konservativa som ett gäng bakåtsträvande xenofober. Han är en av de bästa på det. Men stora delar av väljarkåren kommer förmodligen inte att skratta tillsammans — eller, ännu värre, till och med stämma in. Inte om han inte balanserar saker och ting. Â°°
To Stephen Colbert, the late honeymoon seems to be over. The reality dose will after tracking the last three weeks available on the ratings. But first, a quick review of where we were and how we got here on the late night competition front: off Colbert's opening week, NBC's Jimmy Fallon and The Tonight Show have hit their CBS competition every week with plenty of space to spare. No surprise, as even CBS executives admit they had no illusions of beating Fallon when Colbert and The Late Show find their trail. But that's not to say Colbert has disappointed anyone on Tiffany Network, either, ending a solid second ahead of ABC's Jimmy Kimmel in both total viewers and demo in September and much of October. Most importantly for Colbert, he has found a niche in offering what Jimmy's can't really offer (especially Fallon): consistent political satire and more substantial interviews with major political guests (his interview with Joe Biden as vice president openly showed his inner conflict on running for president was widely praised in this space and quite everywhere else). But therein lies the squeak: most sit-downs with politicians do not exactly result in riveting television (further like Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton to a lesser extent notwithstanding). And Colbert has shown almost no desire to hit both sides of the aisle even close to the same...it's simply not in his DNA. Consequently, according to a Hollywood Reporter survey just released, Colbert has successfully alienated self-described Republicans who see what is being offered on a nightly basis and explore or live with other options. And with the country as polarized as it is, the host thus says goodbye to half its potential audience, which cannot be a healthy business model. Per The Hollywood Reporter survey of 1000 late-night viewers aged 18-65, only 17 percent of them identified as Republican watch Colbert, while attracting 47 percent of those identifying as Democrats, a 30-point gap. But more liberals watch TV than old conservatives. Guess again. In Kimmel's case, the split is 34 percent Democrats, 33 percent Republicans. In Fallon's case, it's 36-31 Democrats. Why so much body? Because Kimmel and Fallon go through large lengths to be nonpolitical. To equally mock or simply find other props and topics to use for comedy outside political humor and (often in Colbert's case) comments on how stupid/horrible/inept Republicans are. It's a smart approach if the goal is to reach as wide an audience as possible, something Colbert never bothered to achieve going back to his Comedy Central days and The Colbert Report. Colbert is Colbert. And it's good at Comedy Central, even expected. But television networks? Not so much... the result of that strategy is now beginning to become a reality when the flowering of the rose comes ten weeks since its debut. In the first six weeks since the launch, Colbert beat Kimmel by impressive 40 percent in the demo. But the week of October 19-23 saw Kimmel win the week over Colbert during his now annual hike to Brooklyn, pushing down the CBS host to third place. The following week Colbert beat Kimmel, but only by seven percent (“only” because the margin was once 40 percent a few weeks ago). And in the first week of November (2nd-6th), Kimmel won again over Colbert, beating him by 5% in both adults in key 18-49 ratings (0.60 versus 0.57) and total viewers (2.626 million versus 2.492 million). It's a 45-point swing... a worrying trend for CBS that is unlikely to suddenly change now that Late Show has settled. Are Colbert's numbers better than Letterman's numbers a year ago? Of course, given the low bar. There's a reason Dave retired (except age) after all. At the moment, the margin is small enough for Colbert to win a few weeks here and Kimmel take a few others there. Both will of course look up at Fallon, who has made everyone quickly forget—especially those who run things on 30 Rock—if even earlier #1 Jay Leno sits in the same chair (deciming Colbert with 60% in 18-49 grades–0.91 against 0.57–last week alone). The Late Show started strongly, as is usually the case when hype and an admiring press are on your back. But taking a page night-in-night-out on the political front is something that the great Johnny Carson never did, nor Leno. Both achieved great success in this. Colbert is cut out of another canvas. Old Comedy Central habits die hard or not at all. He is now the owner of a 30-point gap between Democrats and Republicans watching. His competition is almost evenly divided in the same poll. Stephen Colbert now drops to third place: a result about as predictable as who and what his political goals become during each night. — — Follow Joe Concha on Twitter @JoeConchaTV This is a piece of opinion. The opinions expressed in this article are only those of the author. Five years ago, in THR's first issue, the electoral firm Penn Schoen Berland evaluated the post-primetime landscape. Now, with only one host left in his place, it went back to learn who is watching who and why the atheists love Stephen Colbert. This story was first published in The Hollywood Reporter magazine in November 27. To get the magazine, click here to subscribe. In November 2010, the first issue of the newly launched Hollywood Reporter newspaper contained results of an extensive survey of late television viewers. Respondents were asked their honest views on the genre's greatest name — NBC's Jay Leno, CBS' David Letterman and Comedy Central's power duo by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, among them. The results revealed aging audiences and high hopes for TBS' new star, Conan O'Brien. Five years later, the night landscape is completely different. Only ABC's Jimmy Kimmel remains the host of the show he had then, as Jimmy Fallon inherited The Tonight Show, Colbert took over Late Show and new, younger players James Corden, Trevor Noah and Seth Meyers make a play for viewers. For the magazine's fifth anniversary, THR, who again worked with the measuring firm Penn Schoen Berland, asked viewers to determine what they are looking at and why. The firm conducted a online survey 6 Nov to 10 Nov. of 1,000 late night viewers aged 18 to 65 (divided equally between men and women). "What a tumult five years it's been!" "He's the unpredictable, cool guy you want to be friends with, and his ridiculous, witty and non-offensive humor is in touch with Leno fans and young, married, moderate women." The Great Late-Night Poll: Where the Hosts Stand Now . Stephen Colbert is the host of The Late Show on CBS. (Invision/AP) The expectation was laid out, clear as may be, in the first reports of Stephen Colbert's employment by CBS to succeed David Letterman as host of "The Late Show." from the New York Times on April 11, 2014: The news of Mr Colbert's appointment inflamed conservative commentators such as Rush Limbaugh, who said CBS had "explained war on the heart of America." but CBS executives made it clear that they expected Mr Colbert to broaden his appeal when he moved to the medium too late at night on a network. Broader appeal. That's what Colbert – famous for his satirical account of a conservative commentator on Comedy Central's "Colbert Report" – will be investing in in his new job. It is important because, even on an average night at CBS, Colbert plays for a larger audience (more than 3 million viewers) than he did on his best night on cable (2.5 million for his draperi calls last December). When he was hired, there was a lot of talk about how liberal Colbert actually was. He admitted during his time on the "Daily Show" that he had discovered his liberal policy there, but even some conservatives seemed to respect his comedy mark, and there was actually relatively little setback to a guy whose faux conservative alter ego was hardly flattering to the right side of the political spectrum. And yet, two months into the gig, the 51-year-old funny guy may have alienated himself from real conservatives with his persistent brand of left-wing jokes. And that may be a problem for CBS, which, like all the major networks, will want to attract democratic and Republican viewers throughout next year of presidential elections. In the opening week of November, for the first time since his September 8 debut, Colbert fell to third place in the critical 18-to-49-year-old ratings demographically. Jimmy Fallon, host of NBC's "Tonight Show", has been runaway leader for most of the fall season, but this was the first time Colbert tracked ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live." Last week, it happened again. A survey of late-night comedy viewers, conducted November 6-10 and published Friday by Hollywood Reporter, offered insight into what might be underway. Colbert's CBS audience is 47 percent Democrat and only 17 percent Republican, according to the results of DC-based election firm Penn Schoen Berland. Compare Colbert partisan breakdown with almost even splits of Fallon (36 percent Democrat/31 percent Republican) and Kimmel (34/33), and it is obvious that Colbert competitors do the whole wide-appeal thing better than he does. For now, at least. CBS did not respond to a request for Colbert's ability to attract a wide audience during the campaign. But the current dramatic skewedness may have something to do with this: remember, as we have already told you, that opposition to the resettlement of Syrian refugees is hardly a marginal position. There are also things like this: Support for same-sex marriage has increased dramatically in recent years, but more than a third of the country still opposes it. Again, this is not a fringe population. Colbert knows how to get the house down by painting conservatives like a bunch of backward xenophobes. He's one of the best at it. But much of the electorate will probably not laugh together — or, worse still, even agree. Not if he doesn't balance things. <unk>