Jimmy Kimmel’s Ratings Decline After Brief Post-Suspension Spike
on Oct 01, 2025
Jimmy Kimmel Suspended Following Comments Surrounding Charlie Kirk’s Death
Late night talk show host and comedian Jimmy Kimmel, was suspended following remarks he made following conservaive influencer Charlie Kirk’s passing.
Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcasting Group, which both operate large numbers of ABC affiliates, announced September 17 that it would preempt Jimmy Kimmel Live on its ABC channels effective immediately.
“Mr. Kimmel’s comments about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse, and we do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located,” Nexstar’s broadcasting chief Andrew Alford said in a press release.
Sinclair Broadcast Group later announced it would not allow the show to be aired on its stations again unless Kimmel apologized to Kirk’s family and made a “meaningful personal donation” to TPUSA.
Jimmy Kimmel’s Return Draws Record Viewership Upon Return
In a statement on September 22, Disney (ABC’s parent company) revealed plans to bring the show back to the ABC broadcast network the following day.
“Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country. It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive,” Disney said in the statement. “We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday.”
The show pulled in an impressive 6.26 million viewers upon its return, even with preemptions affecting 23% of households, according to Nielsen data from Disney.
During the 2024-2025 season, Kimmel’s average viewership was around 1.42 million.
Kimmel opened his monologue with some light-hearted jokes about his suspension, but soon shifted to a more serious tone as he addressed his recent comments regarding Kirk’s murder.
On Thursday (September 25), the show averaged 2.3 million total viewers, a sharp 64% decrease from the 6.5 million who tuned in just two days prior.
Kimmel saw a drop in the key 25–54 age demographic, with Thursday’s episode losing 73% of viewers in that crucial category.
The show also lost significant viewers in the younger demographic of adults aged 18-49, Fox News reported.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! has experienced a significant decline in ratings over the past decade, dropping from an average of 2.4 million viewers in 2015 to just 1.6 million in 2025.
