Jimmy Kimmel’s return to ABC on Tuesday night drew one of the largest audiences for “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” in a decade, nearly four times his usual viewership, despite more than 20% of affiliates pre-empting the show, according to preliminary Nielsen data. The episode averaged 6.2 million viewers, while the monologue’s online reach nearly reached 26 million views across YouTube and social media, according to news agency Reuters.Kimmel’s return came after ABC and parent company Disney suspended his show on September 17 following controversy over comments he made regarding the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The suspension prompted public debate about free speech and accusations of government overreach, after the Trump administration and FCC Chair Brendan Carr had applied pressure on the network.In his monologue, Kimmel addressed the controversy directly, saying, “This show is not important. What’s important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this”. He also condemned threats aimed at silencing him, adding, “A government threat to silence a comedian the president doesn’t like is anti-American”.Kimmel also poked fun at US President Donald Trump, who had mocked his ratings and suggested legal action against ABC ahead of the broadcast. Trump had also recently written on Truth Social, “Let Jimmy Kimmel rot in his bad Ratings”.The comedian played a clip of Trump aboard Air Force One saying Kimmel “had no ratings,” and replied to applause from the studio audience, “Well, I do tonight,” Reuters noted.Several major affiliate owners, including Nexstar and Sinclair, continued to pre-empt the broadcast in about a quarter of US households, citing objections to Kimmel’s comments. Nexstar said it was “engaged in productive discussions” with Disney about the show’s content.Trump, meanwhile, had attacked ABC and Kimmel on social media, calling the comedian “Democrat garbage” and suggesting the network’s decision to return the show was an “illegal campaign contribution”. He warned ABC that he intended to “test” the network again, mocking it as “a true bunch of losers.”The episode marked a major ratings success for Kimmel, whose show typically averaged around 1.42 million viewers in the 2024-25 season, according to Reuters. Kimmel acknowledged supporters across the political spectrum, thanking conservatives like Senator Ted Cruz, who defended his right to free expression, saying, “I don’t think I’ve ever said this before, but Ted Cruz is right”.
