Half of all adults have watched all or most of at least one late-night talk or variety show in the past year. Clips from the late-night shows are more popular. About 60% have caught at least one clip from a show.
But fewer people tune-in regularly. Fifteen percent watch a full late-night show at least weekly and 20% watch clips weekly.
More Black adults and Hispanic adults than white adults watch full late-night shows (65% and 61% v. 43%). All watch clips of late-night shows at similar rates.
Democrats are more likely to say they watch late-night or clips than either Republicans or independents. Seventy-six percent of Democrats have watched clips or highlights from a late-night talk or variety show in the past year, and 65% say they watched all or most of late-night show . In comparison, 57% of independents and 52% of Republicans watched clips, while 52% of independents and only 35% of Republicans say they watched all or most of a show.
The nationwide poll was conducted August 21-25, 2025, using the AmeriSpeak® Panel, the probability-based panel of NORC at the University of Chicago. Online and telephone interviews using landlines and cell phones were conducted with 1,182 adults. The overall margin of sampling error is +/- 3.8 percentage points.
- Suggested Citation: AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. “More catch-up with late-night shows through clips than watch the full program.” (September 2025). https://apnorc.org/projects/more-catch-up-with-late-night-shows-through-clips-than-watch-the-full-program/
