Trevor Noah Crashes In Ratings With ‘The Daily Show’
Comedy Central may have picked the wrong star to take over Jon Stewart — at least judging by the ratings. Breitbart was never going to like Noah because of his political leanings, but their reporting on his ratings is supported by factual statistics.
“Despite all the free hype from every corner of the left-wing national media, Noah bombed during his first week with an average of just 1.02 million viewers. That’s down a breathtaking -33% from this same time last year. And at this same time last year we were not in the middle of a historic presidential election delivering all-time high cable news ratings during the debates.”
“The drop is not surprising, given that Jon Stewart was a much regarded host who’d built the franchise into a major player in the political and cultural conversation, while Noah is a South African comedian who’s relatively unknown in this country.”
Some of the commenters after the Dateline article give their reasoning for Noah’s flop.
“Maybe when you’re trying to put an unfunny person in a position of power solely because they’re an attractive guy with an accent, try not to pick the one guy who tweets disgusting things about women at a time when women are having a moment,” says commenter “thanksd.”
“He’s not right for the job. For the viewers that aren’t tuning in now…what are they missing? Why will they tune in at a later date? What’s the draw? Nothing. They won’t. There’s isn’t a draw,” says JJ.
Twitter has experienced a mixed, but mostly negative reaction to Trevor Noah’s show.
What the hell was @ComedyCentral thinking with @TrevorNoah? The #DailyShow is just awful now.
— Chris Dixon (@cdixon25) October 9, 2015
“Assured, handsome and with a crisp delivery, Mr. Noah was a smoother presenter than Mr. Stewart, who made an art form of sputtering and exasperated face palming.”
The New York Times does say that if Mr. Noah’s debut was largely successful, it was also because of the show’s writing. Some of the commenters after the article give praise to Trevor.
“Trevor did fine and it will take a few months for him to grow into his role. Jon Stewart perfected his role over years not minutes. The Daily Show is in good hands and let the new host get fully acclimated into a demanding role,” says Jim McGrath.
A commenter named Michael says he laughed out loud several times in the first couple minutes. He believes Noah is very smart and funny, but will need some time to find the right pace and establish his own voice.
Perhaps the argument over whether Trevor Noah is any good or not will help increase ratings. The presidential race that keeps getting more intense could also help Noah. Have you watched Trevor Noah’s The Daily Show and if so, what is your opinion of him? Let us know in the comments section.
[Feature photo by Brad Barket / Getty Images Entertainment]
