“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” records 6.3 million viewers - despite boycott by local TV stations

“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” returned to ABC with a massive ratings increase, reaching 6.3 million viewers on the first night back on air, according to Variety. The show resumed after Disney had "thorough discussions" with Kimmel about his "inappropriate" remarks regarding the death of activist Charlie Kirk. An estimated 23% of US households were unable to watch the show due to an ongoing boycott by local station owners such as Nexstar and Sinclair. Prior to the brief hiatus, the late-night show averaged 1.77 million viewers in the second quarter of this year. Kimmel's comeback monologue went viral: 14 million views on YouTube and 5.7 million on Instagram - all by the following afternoon. In a previous episode, Kimmel hinted that the political right was trying to distance itself from the perpetrator in the Charlie Kirk case - calling it an attempt to "capitalize on politics". The show was then canceled after political pressure led ABC to take Kimmel "off the air indefinitely".