Colbert’s Late Show Looking To Go Out On Top

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert may be coming to an end soon, but the late-night staple is not going out quietly, as data from Tubular Labs showcases.

On YouTube, the program’s U.S. watch-time climbed 27% month-over-month in February – its third straight month of increased minutes. The show’s 314 million minutes watched were its high over the last year, and that figure was top-30 among all U.S. media pages (though No. 3 among late-night shows behind The Daily Show and Kimmel).

Colbert’s TV strategy leaning into more controversial topics and brutal honesty has helped fuel a late-stage resurgence for the veteran host. This month’s big jump was also buoyed in part by his interview of Texas Democrat James Talarico – which did not appear on traditional TV.

Along with the watch-time jump, Colbert was also reaching new audiences with his YouTube content in February. Its 11.3 million unique U.S. YouTube viewers were its highest figure since hitting 11.5 million last July (the show’s 12-month high).