Jimmy Kimmel’s return scores 6.3 million viewers on ABC — and many more on social media

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Jimmy Kimmel’s return to hosting his late-night show on ABC after a break was incredibly popular, drawing the largest audience the show has ever had at 11:35 p.m. This happened even though the show isn’t available in nearly a quarter of homes across the country.

Nielsen reported that 6.26 million people, on average, watched “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” when the host spoke about his suspension, which became a widely debated free speech issue. ABC had stopped airing the show starting September 17th after criticism arose from Kimmel’s comments regarding the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” usually gets its highest viewership after the Oscars and Super Bowl. The initial ratings for Tuesday’s episode don’t yet include people who watched online.

Despite being unavailable on stations representing 23% of U.S. TV homes, the program performed very well. Major station groups, Nexstar and Sinclair, chose not to air it on their ABC stations, even after ABC, owned by Walt Disney Co., started broadcasting again.

By late Wednesday, 15 million people had viewed Jimmy Kimmel’s monologue and a comedy sketch featuring Robert De Niro on YouTube. ABC, which posted the content online shortly after it aired on television, reported a combined total of 26 million views across YouTube and other social media sites.

Jimmy Kimmel understood his return to television would be a significant event. His temporary removal from the air due to network decisions had become international news, leading to a broad discussion about free expression and the power of government oversight.

He began by saying, “Before I was interrupted,” a phrase famously used by talk show host Jack Paar in 1960 when he returned to the air after a month-long protest. Paar had walked off his show because NBC censors cut a joke about a bathroom from his monologue, sparking a major controversy in the television industry at the time.

I was shocked to hear Jimmy Kimmel was temporarily taken off the air right after the head of the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, criticized his recent monologue. In it, Kimmel had pointed out that some MAGA Republicans seemed to be exploiting the tragic death of John Kirk to push a political agenda, and were even trying to distance the suspected shooter, Tyler Robinson, from their own group. It just felt like a really unfair attack on Kimmel for speaking his mind.

The official in charge of broadcast station rules, Carr, strongly condemned Kimmel’s comments, calling them unacceptable. He urged ABC to take action and warned that the licenses of TV stations could be at risk if the network didn’t respond.

During the beginning of his show, Kimmel became emotional while explaining that he never meant to downplay the tragedy of the shooting, especially when talking about how some on the right reacted to it.

Kimmel then criticized Carr, highlighting past social media posts where Carr strongly defended the First Amendment and spoke out against censorship of people on television and in the media.

Since being appointed to lead the Federal Communications Commission during the Trump administration, Commissioner Carr has echoed the president’s criticism of those who attack him on late-night television.

Jimmy Kimmel apologized for a previous joke about Kirk Douglas’s health, but he didn’t hold back when discussing Donald Trump. He spent a significant portion of his monologue criticizing Trump, signaling he has no plans to soften his approach. Kimmel also defended free speech, arguing that government efforts to silence opinions like his are both un-American and risky.

Kimmel also thanked some conservative politicians and commentators, like Ted Cruz and Joe Rogan, who voiced their disapproval of his show being taken off the air.

Donald Trump strongly criticized Jimmy Kimmel’s recent return to television. He announced on his Truth Social platform that he’s considering another lawsuit against ABC. This potential legal action stems from a previous incident where “Good Morning America” host George Stephanopoulos incorrectly stated that Trump had been found liable for sexual assault – the actual finding was for sexual abuse – which led to a $16 million settlement last year.

A letter from dozens of former ABC employees, obtained by the Times, applauded Disney CEO Bob Iger’s choice to reinstate Kimmel, but stressed that this should be just the beginning of a broader push to protect free speech and a free press from political pressure.

A recent $16 million settlement involving Donald Trump, coupled with a perceived lack of support for ABC News journalists facing criticism, is seen as encouraging the administration to pressure the media, according to a letter signed by former ABC News correspondents Sam Donaldson, Chris Bury, Ned Potter, Judy Muller, and Brian Rooney.

Nexstar continues to prevent its ABC stations from airing “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”. A spokesperson for Nexstar stated on Wednesday that they are having positive talks with Disney, aiming to make sure the show appeals to and represents the values of the local communities they serve.

A spokesperson for Sinclair, which replaced “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” with other programming in cities like Seattle and Washington D.C., stated the company is currently assessing the situation before deciding whether to put the show back on its ABC stations.

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2025-09-25 01:31