Jimmy Kimmel & Shonda Rhimes Best Stephen Colbert, But Jimmy Fallon No. 1

Thursday night, following the season launch of Shonda Rhimes’ primetime hit dramas and with Rhimes as his guest, ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel bested CBS’ football-boosted-though-one-hour-delayed The Late Show With Stephen Colbert for the first time in households (2.5/7 vs. 2.3/8) in the 56 Metered Markets. In the demo, Jimmy Kimmel Live! beat Colbert by 29% (0.9/5 vs. 0.7/5) in the 25 LPM markets.

But NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon edged Kimmel for the win in the early stats, in both metrics (2.6/7 and 1.0/5).

Same night one year ago, also using his Shonda Rhimes Strategy, Kimmel had outstripped both Late Show, then hosted by David Letterman, and Fallon. This year JKL‘s guests also included Dave Salmoni and Jill Scott.