The “Late Show with Stephen Colbert” debuted this Tuesday with an average 6.6 million viewers, according to CBS.

Colbert’s first episode beat most of the prime time shows on other networks. The extra-long pilot episode was the top-rated  late-night show of the night, beating out Jimmy Fallon’s “Tonight Show” on NBC, which averaged 2.9 million views.

CBS reported that the “Late Show” website “experienced its highest premiere day traffic ever and streams of the full episode are up triple digits compared to last year to date.”

To open Tuesday’s show, Colbert showed a pre-taped segment which he sang the Star Spangled Banner in many locations, most notably a baseball field, where the audience was surprised to see Colbert’s former colleague, Jon Stewart.

Colbert ended his long-running Comedy Central show, Colbert Report, back in December, which attracted 2.5 million viewers, a record for him until the transition to CBS.

David Letterman, the former host of the show, retired in May. His final episode was watched by 13.7 million viewers, according to CBS.

According to CNN, “Critical reception for the premiere was mostly upbeat.”

New York Times Critic James Poniewozik wrote, “It was not a rigidly composed plate but a groaning board, built less around a concept then around a vibe of smart fun and an urge to show off its host’s many skills.”