Jimmy Kimmel's Ratings Skydive: Post-Suspension Reality Hits
JIMMY KIMMEL'S TV REVIVAL CRASHES AND BURNS: Ratings Plummet After Sensational Return
In a shocking turn of events, Jimmy Kimmel's late-night talk show has suffered a catastrophic ratings decline after its highly publicized return to ABC. The program, which was temporarily yanked off the air by Disney due to Kimmel's inflammatory remarks about Charlie Kirk's assassination, initially enjoyed a brief but tumultuous comeback.
On Tuesday, Kimmel's show stormed back onto screens with an astonishing 6.5 million viewers tuning in, more than triple its usual audience and marking its highest rating in over a decade. However, this fleeting success story rapidly turned into a disastrous ratings collapse by Thursday, with the show averaging a paltry 2.3 million viewers – a staggering 64% drop from its return episode. Furthermore, Kimmel's show suffered an even more precipitous decline among the coveted demographic of adults aged 25-54, plummeting to just 465,000 viewers.
Typically, Kimmel's late-night program garners around 1.8 million viewers each night on television. Nonetheless, these numbers do not include viewership from streaming services, which may have contributed to his show's initially robust ratings.
The drama surrounding Kimmel's return began when his program was abruptly pulled off the air by Disney following a heated exchange between Kimmel and Charlie Kirk's family about the assassination. In reality, prosecutors allege that the killer was motivated by hatred for Kirk's conservative and Christian values, rather than any allegiance to Trump as initially suggested.
Kimmel's emotional 20-minute monologue on Tuesday attempted to address the controversy surrounding his remarks. However, instead of offering a genuine apology, he lashed out at Donald Trump over alleged censorship and claimed that his employer was taking an enormous risk by reinstating him on air.
"It's unfortunate," Kimmel lamented, "and I think unjustly, this puts them at risk... Our leader celebrates Americans losing their livelihoods because he can't take a joke."
Kimmel broke down in tears while discussing the assassination of Charlie Kirk but failed to express genuine remorse for his inflammatory remarks. "I have no illusions about changing anyone's mind," Kimmel insisted, "but I want to make something clear – it was never my intention to trivialize the murder of a young man... I don't think there's anything funny about it."
In a stunning display of defiance, Kimmel also targeted FCC Chairman Brendan Carr for threatening to take action against late-night comics. The comedian branded Carr's threat as "not legal" and "un-American," labeling his comments on Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers a "direct violation of the First Amendment." Kimmel's response was met with outrage from some quarters, but it remains unclear whether this brazen stance will ultimately salvage his show's sagging ratings.
It is worth noting that several local TV stations, including those affiliated with Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group, only reinstated Jimmy Kimmel's late-night talk show on Friday after a days-long blackout. This unexpected absence had left viewers in dozens of cities across the United States without access to the program for over a week.
As the drama surrounding Jimmy Kimmel's show continues to unfold, one thing is certain: his ratings will need to rebound significantly if he hopes to salvage his late-night talk show from this catastrophic implosion.