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

Jimmy Kimmel’s point of notes was short -lived.

Disney briefly suspended “Jimmy Kimmel Live from ABC!” After the host’s remarks on the alleged assassin of Charlie Kirk sparked a generalized game. After a subject of Disney, the liberal actor returned last Tuesday, and the emotional return of Kimmel attracted a massive audience, but the viewers did not stay.

Thursday, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” On average 2.3 million viewers in total – an astonishing drop of 64% compared to the 6.5 million that listened to the very publicized yield on Tuesday.

The evolution of Jimmy Kimmel at the end of the evening of the activist of Dem activist of Jimmy Kimmel Jimmy Kimmel

Disney briefly suspended “Jimmy Kimmel Live from ABC!” After the host’s remarks on the alleged assassin of Charlie Kirk, aroused generalized indignation. (Randy Holmes / Disney via Getty Images)

Kimmel has lost even more viewers in the demography coveted by adult advertisers aged 25 to 54, with the episode of Thursday hemorrhage 73% of viewers in the critical category.

“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Terré 1.7 million viewers among the key demo of Tuesday’s return, but dropped only 465,000 48 hours later.

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

Sinclair puts an end to Jimmy Kimmel Ban after a host in the middle of the controversy of Charlie Kirk

“Jimmy Kimmel Live from ABC!” returned to the air on September 23, 2025. (Randy Holmes / Disney via Getty Images)

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 “Gang Maga”, despite information that he had a left-wing ideology, which was reaffirmed in the indictment filed the next day.

“We have struck new stockings during the weekend with the gang Maga trying desperately to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as something other than one of them and do everything they can to score political points,” Kimmel told his audience.

The false suggestion that Robinson was a supporter of Maga launched the indignation and examination of the Federal Commission Commission (FCC). Disney decided to suspend the show after Nexstar and Sinclair drew Kimmel from their stations, and Kimmel would have told leaders last week that he would not apologize for his comments.

Disney’s suspension lasted less than a week. Kimmel returned Tuesday with a passionate monologue, but stopped below the complete apology.

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Charlie Kirk speaks before being murdered during a USA Utah Valley Turning Point event in Orem, Utah, September 10, 2025. (Tess Crowley / The Deseret News via AP)

Nexstar and Sinclair continued to pre -empt the program until the authorization of his return on Friday.

“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” has also seen its notes drop considerably over the past decade, as the program has reached an average of 2.4 million viewers in 2015 and has been downward since. The Kimmel program reached an average of 2.2 million in 2016 and 2017, fell to 2.1 million in 2018, fell to 1.9 million in 2019 and flowed to 1.8 million in 2020. By 2021, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Managed only 1.5 million night viewers. The number of average viewers of Kimmel in 2025 of 1.6 million fell by 37% compared to the 2015 totals when Disney decided to temporarily sidelines it.

Meanwhile, Kirk supporters spoke of Kimmel’s non-apology, saying that Host ABC had not taken responsibility for the lie.

“Kimmel is an unrepentant liar who has tried to blame Charlie’s assassination from the country which has just spent the last 2 weeks to pray and keep watch,” reacted the spokesperson for Turning Point USA, Andrew Kolvet.

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Joseph A. Wulfsohn from Fox News Digital contributed to this report.