Jimmy Kimmel’s on-air return this week, after ABC lifted his suspension, drew one of the biggest late-night audiences in years and reopened a fight over how politics and regulators shape broadcast decisions. Updated Nielsen data show Tuesday’s episode averaged roughly 6.3 million viewers and captured about 23% of all TV viewing at 11:35 p.m.—a share not seen since Johnny Carson’s 1992 farewell—despite dozens of local preemptions. Kimmel leaned into the moment on Thursday, thanking Donald Trump for the ratings jolt after the president mocked his “bad ratings” on social media.
The surge followed a week in which Disney’s ABC benched “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on Sept. 17 after Kimmel criticized the administration’s response to the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Before the suspension, the Federal Communications Commission’s chair had warned that affiliates airing Kimmel could face repercussions, and two large station groups—Sinclair and Nexstar—kept the show off many ABC outlets even after ABC reinstated it. On Friday, both companies said they would restore the program to their ABC stations, ending the blackouts that had affected roughly a quarter of the network’s local footprint.
The episode also intensified scrutiny of Disney’s handling of the controversy. Two shareholder groups asked the company’s board to turn over records related to the suspension and any communications with affiliates or regulators, arguing that capitulating to political pressure could have harmed investors. Disney hasn’t publicly detailed its internal deliberations; the affiliates that preempted the show have framed their decisions as matters of community standards and editorial judgment.
The ratings picture complicates the politics. Beyond the linear audience, Kimmel’s Tuesday monologue quickly amassed tens of millions of online views, and ABC’s “Nightline” saw a major bump the same night.
Analysts say the business incentives for Disney and its affiliates to resolve the standoff—longstanding programming deals and ad revenue—were strong, which helps explain the swift end to the blackout. Kimmel, for his part, conceded that some viewers found his timing unclear but did not apologize, and signaled he won’t retreat from political material.
