Jimmy Kimmel’s TV return draws record viewers. How many in the Triangle?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Jimmy Kimmel's return drew 6.26 million viewers nationwide on Sept. 23.
- Triangle viewership jumped from 18,100 on average to 72,600 households for the episode.
- Sinclair resumed airing the show on ABC affiliates Sept. 26, joining ABC-owned stations.
After a few days off the air, ABC reversed its decision and resumed broadcasting the late-night show hosted by Jimmy Kimmel.
ABC11, an ABC-owned station in the Triangle, was affected by the company’s decision to suspend “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” after the comedian and host commented on the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk during his monologue on Monday, Sept. 15.
Kimmel’s comments spurred two major companies in broadcasting, Nexstar and Sinclair, to refuse to show the program on their ABC affiliates nationwide, in addition to ABC’s own stations. Nexstar and Sinclair’s moves didn’t affect Triangle viewers, as those companies don’t own any ABC affiliates in the area, but they did affect stations elsewhere in North Carolina.
Sinclair said Friday, Sept. 26 that it would again run the show on its ABC affiliates starting that evening. As of publication, Nexstar had not announced any updates since Tuesday, Sept. 23, when it said it would “continue to preempt” the late-night show.
How many people watched Kimmel?
Jimmy Kimmel’s show returned to the airwaves Tuesday, Sept. 23, and it drew an audience nearly four times larger than normal.
Based on preliminary ratings data, around 6.26 million people nationwide watched the show Tuesday night, USA Today reported. In the 2024-25 TV season, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” averaged 1.6 million viewers.
In the Triangle, 72,600 households tuned into “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on its first night back from suspension, ABC11 told The News & Observer.
On a typical night during the September survey period for Nielsen, a media audience measurement firm, the show averaged 18,100 households. That’s about four times smaller than the Tuesday viewership, in line with national data.
What happened with Jimmy Kimmel’s show?
The late-night host offered a message of compassion to the family of Charlie Kirk and “all the children, parents and innocents who fall victim to senseless gun violence” in the immediate aftermath of Kirk’s death.
But in his Monday, Sept. 15 monologue, Kimmel said, “We hit some new lows over the weekend, with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”
The host then joked about President Donald Trump’s response to a reporter’s question about how he was coping with Kirk’s death. Trump said he was “I think very good” and then began speaking about a White House construction project.
Kimmel’s comments were noticed not just by Sinclair, which said it “objects” to them, and Nexstar, which described them as “offensive and insensitive.”
Brendan Carr, chair of the Federal Communications Commission, said on conservative commentator Benny Johnson’s show Wednesday, Sept. 17 that Kimmel’s comments were “some of the sickest conduct possible.”
Carr also said companies could “find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel,” or the FCC, the agency that regulates broadcasters, would have work to do.
