ABC reports that nearly 6.3 million people tuned in to see Jimmy Kimmel’s comeback after he was taken off the air for several days over comments that angered supporters of slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk, despite several stations maintaining blackouts of the late-night comedian.
As is often the case with late-night hosts’ monologues, there was a larger audience online, with more than 15 million people watching Kimmel’s opening remarks on YouTube by Wednesday evening.
ABC says more than 26 million people watched Kimmel’s return on social media, including YouTube.
Typically, he gets about 1.8 million viewers each night on television. The numbers released by ABC do not include viewership from streaming services.
Both the Nexstar and Sinclair groups, which own dozens of ABC affiliates around the country, kept Kimmel off the air Tuesday.
A spokesman for Nexstar says Kimmel will continue to be preempted from its stations while the company evaluates his show.
“We are engaged in productive discussions with executives at the [ABC parent] Walt Disney Co., with a focus on ensuring the program reflects and respects the diverse interests of the communities we serve,” Nexstar says.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From 
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
