{"id":38844,"date":"2025-09-18T19:25:36","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T19:25:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=38844"},"modified":"2025-09-18T19:25:36","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T19:25:36","slug":"jimmy-kimmels-ratings-were-plummeting-before-abc-suspended-him-for-charlie-kirk-comments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=38844","title":{"rendered":"Jimmy Kimmel\u2019s ratings were plummeting before ABC suspended him for Charlie Kirk comments"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Jimmy Kimmel\u2019s\u00a0late-night show was bleeding viewers\u00a0<\/a>before Disney-owned ABC\u00a0pulled the plug and suspended him\u00a0<\/a>for his comments on Charlie Kirk\u2019s assassination.<\/p>\n

Nielsen data showed sharp summer declines and a year-long slide that leaves him trailing late-night rivals such as Fox News\u2019 Greg Gutfeld and CBS star Stephen Colbert.<\/p>\n

According to monthly Nielsen figures, \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!\u201d\u00a0dropped to just 1.1 million total viewers<\/a>\u00a0in August 2025, down 43% from January\u2019s 1.95 million. His August household rating of 0.35 marked the weakest showing of the year.<\/p>\n

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\"Jimmy5<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>
Jimmy Kimmel gestures during a recent taping of his late-night show in Los Angeles.ABC<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The advertiser-coveted 18\u201349 demo also cratered. Kimmel averaged only 129,000 viewers in that bracket in August, off from 212,000 in January and less than half his June peak of 284,000.<\/p>\n

With his ABC contract set to expire next year, the slump raises questions about whether \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!\u201d can regain momentum against Colbert, Fallon and cable insurgents.<\/p>\n

Kimmel\u2019s deal with ABC runs through May 2026, under a three-year extension signed in September 2022.<\/p>\n

Industry reports put his salary at $15 million to $16 million a year, with some outlets noting that bonuses can push his annual earnings above $20 million.<\/p>\n

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\"Kimmel5<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>
Kimmel fans protested ABC\u2019s suspension of his show outside the El Capitan Entertainment Centre in Hollywood on Wednesday.REUTERS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite ABC\u2019s indefinite suspension of the show, the network has not announced any change to his contractual pay.<\/p>\n

The Post has sought comment from Kimmel and ABC.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s erosion in viewership follows a bumpy 2024. Annual Nielsen ratings\u00a0compiled by industry site LateNighter<\/a>\u00a0show Kimmel averaged 1.77 million total viewers last year, down 2.3% from 2023. In the demo, he shed more than 12%, pulling 221,000 nightly viewers on average.<\/p>\n

By comparison, CBS\u2019s \u201cLate Show with Stephen Colbert\u201d held the top broadcast spot with 2.57 million viewers and 281,000 in the demo, despite also losing ground year-over-year.<\/p>\n

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\"Kimmel5<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>
Kimmel has trailed in the ratings race against upstart Greg Gutfeld of Fox News.Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NBC\u2019s \u201cTonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon\u201d lagged behind with 1.37 million total viewers, but it narrowly trailed Kimmel in the demo with 220,000.<\/p>\n

Fox News\u2019 \u201cGutfeld!\u201d remained cable\u2019s late night ratings juggernaut in 2024, averaging 2.76 million viewers \u2014 though the program airs at 10 p.m. when more viewers are awake.<\/p>\n

Fox News shares common ownership with The Post.<\/p>\n

Comedy Central\u2019s \u201cDaily Show,\u201d powered by Jon Stewart\u2019s Monday night return, posted the biggest growth, surging 84% among total viewers and 53% in the demo.<\/p>\n

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\"NBC\u2019s5<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>
NBC\u2019s \u201cTonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon\u201d lagged behind Kimmel in total viewers, but are near even when it comes to attracting younger audiences.Todd Owyoung\/NBC via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\"Stephen5<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>
Stephen Colbert leads among the late night hosts on over-the-air broadcast television.Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span>Within broadcast, Kimmel\u2019s position has weakened in 2025.<\/p>\n

After a relatively steady winter and spring, he has logged consecutive declines since June. His July average fell to 1.23 million viewers before dipping below 1.2 million in August, according to Nielsen.<\/p>\n

Quarterly numbers confirm the trend: Kimmel averaged 1.82 million viewers in Q1 2025, then slipped to 1.77 million in Q2. The August low signals a deeper summer swoon \u2014 though summer viewership is traditionally lower as most shows air re-runs.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Jimmy Kimmel\u2019s\u00a0late-night show was bleeding viewers\u00a0before Disney-owned ABC\u00a0pulled the plug and suspended him\u00a0for his comments on Charlie Kirk\u2019s assassination. Nielsen data showed sharp summer declines and a year-long … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":38843,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=38844"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38844\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38845,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38844\/revisions\/38845"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/38843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=38844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=38844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=38844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}