Jon Stewart Returns With Best ‘Daily Show’ Numbers Since 2018

By Jon Lafayette
( Broadcasting & Cable )
published

Comedy Central show tallies 1.85 million total viewers across simulcasts and encore

Jon Stewart returns to The Daily Show
Jon Stewart returns to 'The Daily Show' (Image credit: Matt Wilson/Comedy Central’s The Daily Show)

Jon Stewart's return to The Daily Show anchor chair generated some of the biggest numbers for Comedy Central since 2018.

The February 12 episode of The Daily Show, simulcast on Paramount Global cable networks including MTV, Paramount Network, TV Land, CMT, Pop and MTV2, drew 1.85 total viewers, including an encore airing at 1:30 am. The figures do not include viewing on Paramount Plus.

On Comedy Central alone, The Daily Show had 930,000 viewers, the most since 2018 and the most-watched telecast on the channel since 2017, Paramount said, citing Nielsen data.

Also Read: Jon Stewart (Not So Subtly) Calls for Dems to Replace Joe Biden in 'Daily Show' Return

Stewart’s return drew more viewers than his successor Trevor Noah’s final episode in 2022. During 2022, Noah’s Daily Show averaged 385,000 viewers.

Stewart will be anchoring The Daily Show on Mondays. Other cast members will host the other nights of the week.

Jon Lafayette
Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.