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Jimmy Kimmel Live Returns With Record-Breaking Ratings
Jimmy Kimmel’s return to late-night television this week was anything but quiet. After a nearly one-week suspension following controversial remarks about Charlie Kirk, Kimmel came back to ABC on September 23, and the audience came back in droves.
Related: Disney Investors Demand Records Over Jimmy Kimmel Suspension After Remarks on Charlie Kirk
According to Nielsen data, the episode pulled in 6.26 million viewers, more than tripling the show’s usual numbers. And that’s just the live broadcast, streaming and delayed viewing will push that total even higher.
The boost is even more striking considering Jimmy Kimmel Live is still blacked out in nearly a quarter of U.S. households due to ongoing disputes with Nexstar and Sinclair. Even with that setback, the show managed its largest regularly scheduled episode audience in over a decade. Among adults 18–49, the key demographic for late-night TV, the episode scored a 0.87 rating — its best in years.
Related: Jimmy Kimmel Returns to Late Night, Addresses Charlie Kirk Controversy in Emotional Monologue
Much of the attention centered on Kimmel’s 28-minute opening monologue, which has already racked up more than 26 million views across YouTube and other platforms. In the segment, Kimmel addressed the controversy head-on, saying, “It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man. I don’t think there’s anything funny about it.” He also couldn’t resist taking a jab at critics, joking that, “[Trump] tried his best to cancel me. Instead, he forced millions of people to watch the show. Backfired bigly.”
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