Jimmy Kimmel’s ratings have fallen back to earth just two days after he returned to his late-night show last week with a triumphant smile.
Much ink was spilled over a one-night ratings bonanza that Kimmel enjoyed during his first show back since ABC announced a short-lived suspension for his remarks about Charlie Kirk’s killer. The anti-Trump comic garnered over 6.5 million viewers despite not being carried in about one of four ABC affiliates due to protests by two broadcasters.
How times have changed. According to the latest Nielsen ratings, Kimmel has lost 64% of his audience two days after “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” returned to the air.
Thursday’s show averaged just 2.3 million total viewers, a significant drop from the previous 48 hours. The decline was even more drastic in the key 25-54 audience demographic, where Thursday’s episode lost 73% of its Tuesday night audience, down to 334,000 viewers from 1.2 million.
The feud between Kimmel and President Donald Trump started shortly after Tyler Robinson surrendered to authorities for the murder of Kirk, a conservative activist who is credited with helping Trump win back the White House. In his opening monologue on Sept. 16, Kimmel alleged that Trump and his “MAGA gang” are “desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them.”
The quip caused a scramble inside ABC and its parent company, Disney, where executives told Kimmel to either publicly apologize or face the consequences. When he refused, Disney announced that Kimmel would be “indefinitely” suspended.
Just one week later, however, news emerged that Disney reached a deal with Kimmel to see him return to the air in exchange for a non-apology explanation about his remarks. The reversal enraged Trump, who has groused about late-night comedy’s left-leaning commentary about his administration.
Sinclair and Nexstar, two of ABC’s biggest broadcasters, refused to carry Kimmel last week. On Saturday, both announced that Kimmel’s show would return to his regularly scheduled broadcast on their dozens of affiliate stations.
Andrew Kolvet, a spokesman for the late Kirk’s Turning Point USA organization, denounced Disney’s decision to bring back Kimmel.
“Kimmel is an unrepentant liar who tried to blame Charlie’s assassination on the part of the country that just spent the last 2 weeks praying and holding vigils,” he reacted in a statement to Fox News.
For now, at least, Kimmel avoids the fate of his peer Stephen Colbert, the CBS late-night host whose show will end in May after the network announced its termination. Liberals loudly protested, but CBS stood by its decision, revealing that “Late Night With Stephen Colbert” was losing $50 million annually.
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