Late-night TV exhibits have collectively seen declining viewership through the years. Amid Jimmy Kimmel‘s suspension from on-air broadcasts, Donald Trump claimed the comic has had “unhealthy” scores for years. So, is it true? Right here, we’ve a breakdown of Jimmy Kimmel Reside!‘s scores over the previous 10 years.
Was Jimmy Kimmel Fired by ABC?
No, Kimmel has not been fired. The community suspended him “indefinitely” after his feedback about Charlie Kirk‘s suspected shooter, Tyler Robinson, angered right-wing viewers in addition to the FCC.
Days after Kimmel despatched his condolences to the Kirk household and condemned political violence, he mentioned on his present’s September 15, 2025, episode, “The MAGA Gang (is) desperately attempting to characterize this child who murdered Charlie Kirk as something aside from considered one of them and doing all the things they’ll to attain political factors from it. In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.”
FCC boss Brendan Carr went on Benny Johnson’s present to debate the “very, very critical challenge … for Disney,” noting, “We will do that the straightforward means or the arduous means.”
“There’s requires Kimmel to be fired,” Carr continued. “I believe you can definitely see a path ahead for suspension over this.”
Jimmy Kimmel Reside! has not been canceled both, regardless of assumptions made by varied public figures.
“Nice Information for America: The scores challenged Jimmy Kimmel Present is CANCELLED. Congratulations to @ABC for lastly having the braveness to do what needed to be performed…” – President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/Vhj6DQSssu
— The White Home (@WhiteHouse) September 18, 2025
Have been Jimmy Kimmel’s Scores Low Over the Previous Few Years?
Kimmel’s scores decreased since 2015, in keeping with a number of retailers and Nielsen knowledge. Ten years in the past, Kimmel had a median of two.4 million viewers. Since 2015, that viewership has progressively declined by way of 2025.
In the course of the second quarter of 2025, Kimmel averaged round 220,000 adults aged 18 to 49 years outdated, per knowledge from Nielsen. The present averaged 1.8 million viewers in Q1 and 1.77 million viewers throughout Q2, per Forbes and USTVDB.
Jimmy Kimmel Reside! Scores 12 months by 12 months
In 2015, Kimmel had 2.4 million viewers, in keeping with Nielsen knowledge. The next is a listing of Jimmy Kimmel Reside!‘s scores yr after yr from 2015 to 2021, in keeping with Nielsen knowledge, Forbes and Fox Information:
- 2015 — 2.4 million
- 2016 — 2.2 million
- 2017 — 2.2 million
- 2018 — 2.1 million
- 2019 — 1.9 million
- 2020 — 1.8 million
- 2021 — 1.5 million
It’s too early to find out the overall viewership for Jimmy Kimmel Reside! in 2025.
By comparability, different late-night TV exhibits have additionally seen a decline in viewership largely because of the public’s new reliance on streaming platforms and social media.
Is Jimmy Kimmel Coming Again?
There’s a likelihood that Kimmel might return since ABC solely suspended him, however neither the Walt Disney Firm nor Kimmel has publicly responded on the present’s future.
A supply near the scenario instructed CNN, “Everybody deeply values [Kimmel] and desires him to come back again. However he has to take down the temperature [with his Trump-related commentary].”
Disney’s choice to drag Kimmel’s present was not a “rash” choice, CNN additional reported. The issue “had been brewing” the week of September 15, 2025, as a result of Kimmel didn’t relent from his “MAGA gang” remarks and Kirk’s capturing.
Firm executives instructed the comic to “[take] down the temperature” of what would have been his September 17, 2025, monologue, a separate supply instructed CNN. When he didn’t, Disney CEO Bob Iger and Disney Leisure Co-chairman Dana Walden determined to drag Jimmy Kimmel Reside! “in hopes of defending Kimmel and the Disney model from accelerating the controversy.”
Selection reported on September 19, 2025, that Kimmel’s authorized crew and Disney are working to achieve a compromise. Nonetheless, a stable settlement has not been met on the time of publication.
