Whether people want more than Jimmy Fallon or not, they're about to get him, with NBC making special plans to air special episodes of The This night Bear witness afterward NFL football game.

Football is a proven ratings lead-in, which is why airing right after the Super Basin is one of the virtually coveted time slots on TV. However, we're closer to the start of football rather than the finish, then some might translate NBC'southward plan as a blatant attempt to boost Fallon'southward disappointing ratings.

Football game and Fallon: NBC'southward plans

Jimmy Fallon
Jimmy Fallon | Andrew Lipovsky/NBC/NBCU Photograph Depository financial institution

According to TV Line, NBC volition air episodes of The This night Show after five games on Lord's day Dark Football game, starting September 8 with the game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots. These volition be new episodes of Fallon, not reruns.

The four other dates for the Sunday shows are October half dozen, October 20, October  27 and Dec one. And equally if Fallon won't take enough work to do, he'll run an entire week alive from Sept. 23 to 27, when the new flavor of The This evening Show kicks off.

Doing the show live will certainly be nil new for the Saturday Night Alive veteran, but whether Fallon is sweating the extra piece of work or non, NBC executives have reportedly been sweating Fallon'south ratings, which have consistently dropped behind Stephen Colbert's over at The Belatedly Show on CBS.

Ratings crisis at 'The Tonight Bear witness'

According to The  New York Mail, NBC was none too pleased afterward finding out that Colbert had trumped Fallon for the third year in a row.

In an era where Telly ratings are falling across the board, all the late-night talk shows saw declines, just Colbert's was the smallest at two pct, while Fallon was down nine per centum, and ABC'due south Jimmy Kimmel Live was down ten pct.

Making matters worse is that for the showtime time, Fallon fell behind Colbert for an unabridged season. NBC responded that The This night Bear witness "is the most-viewed entertainment program on Telly across social media and the near popular late-night entertainment evidence on YouTube."

Fallon excels at going viral with popular routines like "Classroom Instruments" and "Lip Sync Battle," which span off an entire show of its own. Notwithstanding, it's all too easy to forget that social media doesn't equal the unabridged viewership, every bit the ratings demonstrate.

Tin Jimmy Fallon recover?

The Daily Beast pointed to and then-presidential candidate Donald Trump's 2016 advent on the prove equally the moment when ratings took a bad plow. Fallon received intense criticism, specifically for mussing Trump's hair, and generally for playing as well "nice" with the divisive leader. Meanwhile, skewering Trump is Colbert's stock in merchandise.

Fallon admitted he has had a difficult time living that moment down, saying rather bluntly:

 "You go, 'All right, we go it. I heard you.' Y'all made me feel bad. So now what? Are you happy? I'm depressed. Do you want to push me more than? What do you want me to do? You want me to impale myself? What would make you happy? Go over it.'"

Such controversy is tough for Fallon, who is generally seen as a people-pleaser who simply wants to get forth with everybody. Mean-spiritedness but isn't him. While such an attitude is laudable, some might argue Fallon can be generous to a fault.

Commenters on TV Line have taken annotation of NBC's NFL gambit, with one maxim "Trying to get viewers back he lost during the whole trump debacle. Doubt information technology will produce a lasting result."

Another mused. "How about them (insert football team here)? I oasis't seen numbers and then low since (Political Person here)'s blessing ratings."