The ratings are in! As Jimmy Kimmel returned for the first post-suspension episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday (September 23) night, 6.26 million total viewers tuned in to see the episode on broadcast alone, ABC has announced. That’s despite the fact that dozens of local ABC affiliate stations were preempted by Nexstar and Sinclair from showing the episode, to the tune of 23% of U.S. TV households being blocked.
ABC touts the episode’s 0.87 rating as the series’ highest in more than a decade, since March 12, 2015.
Though the ratings do not currently include streaming figures, the network did also note that Kimmel’s emotional monologue earned a whopping 26 million+ views on YouTube and social media channels.
Kimmel predicted that the ratings for his return would be strong in that same monologue. After reviewing footage of Donald Trump dismissing his talent and saying he got “no ratings,” Kimmel joked, “Well, I do tonight!”
Kimmel returned to the airwaves on Tuesday night, one week after his previous show in which he made comments about the alleged murderer of conservative activist Charlie Kirk that sparked public pressure from the FCC chairman against the network and its affiliates and ABC’s subsequent “indefinite” suspension of the series.
In this September 16 show, Kimmel had 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.”
In his monologue, Kimmel reframed that comment to clarify that he was not making light of the murder of Kirk. Through tears, he said, ““You understand it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man. I don’t think there’s anything funny about it. I posted a message on Instagram on the day he was killed asking compassion for his family, and I meant it. I still do. Nor did I mean to blame any specific group for the actions of a specific individual. That was actually the opposite of the point I was trying to make. For those who think I did point a finger, I get why you’re upset. If the situation were reversed, there’s a good chance I would’ve felt the same way.”
Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Weeknights, 11:35 p.m. ET, ABC
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