Kimmel’s comeback boosts ratings

The late-night host’s return garners 6.3 million viewers on ABC, plus more online

- By STEPHEN BATTAGLIO

JIMMY KIMMEL, right, is embraced by Guillermo Rodriguez while filming his late-night show Tuesday.

(RANDY HOLMES Disney)

Jimmy Kimmel’s emotional Tuesday return to his late-night hosting perch at ABC gave his program its largest audience ever in its regular 11:35 p.m. time period, despite not airing for nearly a quarter of U.S. households.

An average of 6.26 million viewers tuned in to watch “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” as the comedian addressed his suspension that became a free speech cause celebre, according to Nielsen. ABC had pulled the show “indefinitely” starting Sept. 17 following blowback over Kimmel’s remarks about the shooting death of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.

The only times “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” has scored higher ratings were when it aired special episodes after the Oscars and the Super Bowl. Preliminary numbers for Tuesday’s show didn’t include streaming.

The program delivered strong numbers despite not airing on 60 network affiliates covering 23% of U.S. television households. Television station ownership groups Nexstar and Sinclair kept the program off their ABC-affiliated outlets even as Walt Disney Co.-owned ABC resumed production.

By late Wednesday, 15 million people had watched Kimmel’s monologue and a comedy bit with actor Robert De Niro on YouTube, where ABC made it available shortly after it aired on TV. ABC said a total of 26 million people watched the monologue across YouTube and social media platforms.