Jimmy Kimmel sheds 64% of audience after short-lived ratings spike following suspension

Jimmy Kimmel’s ratings spike was short-lived. 

Disney briefly suspended ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” after the host’s remarks about the alleged assassin of Charlie Kirk sparked widespread backlash. After an about-face from Disney, the liberal comedian returned last Tuesday, and Kimmel’s emotional return drew a massive audience, but viewers haven’t stuck around. 

On Thursday, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” averaged 2.3 million total viewers — a staggering 64% drop from the 6.5 million who tuned in for Tuesday’s much-hyped return. 

Kimmel shed even more viewers in the advertiser-coveted demographic of adults aged 25-54, with Thursday’s episode hemorrhaging 73% of viewers from the critical category. 

“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” pulled in 1.7 million viewers among the key demo for Tuesday’s return but plummeted to 465,000 only 48 hours later. 

“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” also lost significant viewers in the younger demographic of adults aged 18-49, managing 1.2 million on Tuesday but quickly losing 73% to settle for only 334,000 on Thursday. 

The saga began earlier this month when Kimmel falsely suggested that Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old suspect in the Kirk assassination, was part of the “MAGA gang,” despite reports he had a left-wing ideology, which was reaffirmed in the indictment filed the next day.

“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,” Kimmel told his audience. 

The false suggestion that Robinson was a MAGA supporter sparked outrage and scrutiny from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Disney decided to suspend the show after Nexstar and Sinclair pulled airings of Kimmel from their stations, and Kimmel reportedly had told executives last week he would not apologize for his comments.

Disney’s suspension lasted less than a week. Kimmel returned Tuesday with a passionate monologue but stopped short of a full apology.

Nexstar and Sinclair continued to preempt the program until allowing its return on Friday. 

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Here’s the latest on Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension after Charlie Kirk comments

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“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” has also seen its ratings drop significantly over the past decade, as the program averaged 2.4 million viewers in 2015 and has been trending downward ever since. Kimmel’s program averaged 2.2 million in 2016 and 2017, fell to 2.1 million in 2018, dropped to 1.9 million in 2019 and sunk to 1.8 million in 2020. By 2021, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” managed only 1.5 million nightly viewers. Kimmel’s 2025 average viewership of 1.6 million was down 37% compared to 2015 totals when Disney decided to temporarily sideline him. 

Meanwhile, Kirk’s supporters panned Kimmel’s non-apology, saying the ABC host failed to take responsibility for the falsehood.

“Kimmel is an unrepentant liar who tried to blame Charlie’s assassination on the part of the country that just spent the last 2 weeks praying and holding vigils,” Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet reacted.