Jon Stewart has returned to the Daily Show and hosts the show one night a week for election season. News of Stewart's return caused a stir in the liberal media, as journalists are his biggest fans.
Stewart's big return has certainly improved the show's ratings, but the numbers aren't that impressive when viewed in the context of other similar shows.
On the same night as Stewart's debut, he was crushed in the ratings by Greg Gutfeld, who had emerged as a serious late-night force.
The Western Journal says:
Gutfeld Ruins Jon Stewart's Big Night, Steamrolls Lib Comic in Ratings
Well, the ratings came in, and it was a landslide. It was epic…
Greg Gutfeld crushing on Jon Stewart.
According to Nielsen, the first episode of Comedy Central's “The Daily Show” generated just 930,000 viewers from 11 to 11:50 p.m. ET. More importantly – and worse for Stewart and company – in the 25-54 age group, there were only 320,000 viewers.
To an outsider to the industry, these numbers may seem respectable. However, those numbers were down significantly compared to “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart's” numbers from 2014 when it had 1.4 million viewers overall and 672,000 viewers in the coveted 25-54 demo.
The bad news for “The Daily Show” didn't end there.
On the same night as Prime Minister Greg Gutfeld, who hosts Gutfeld! From 10-11 PM ET, total viewers averaged 2.2 million, with 328,000 viewers in the 25-54 demo, beating Stewart between the two categories. There's a lot of myth out there that conservatives are just angry old white people.
The final nail in liberal Jon Stewart's coffin was his face-to-face showdown with “Fox News @ Night” at 11 p.m. ET. The show achieved 1.3 million viewers.
The media landscape has changed during Jon Stewart's absence. While liberals are thrilled to have him back, it's clear he no longer has the influence he had in 2015. And no one is laughing harder than Gutfeld.
