Battling for the lead in late-night television isn’t exactly an easy topic for Stephen Colbert to talk about, but now that he and “The Late Show” have captured the biggest audience in their time slot, the TV funnyman sure would like to keep it that way. He returned to the Stern Show on Tuesday and told Howard what it’s like to be No. 1 while still admiring his competitors Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel.

“I don’t want to beat anybody, honest to God,” Stephen said. “I don’t like reading any shit about the other guys because I know what it’s like to have that shit written about you and I respect those cats.”

But attempting to reach the top spot is an inescapable objective for a late-night host. “I feel a gratitude to CBS and … it would be ungrateful not to try,” Stephen explained. “And so to be in the hunt is fantastic. To be winning on a weekly basis? Well, that’s just wonderful.”

The network is no doubt thrilled to have “The Late Show” winning in the ratings but Colbert told Howard not much changed once they secured the No. 1 position, other than weekly celebratory pizza for his staff. “[CBS was] happy but, no, no one’s like, rolling up with a Bentley for me,” Colbert said. “Because they hired me with the expectation that I would do well. So, I’m fulfilling my contract in a way.”

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