‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ Ratings Show Dramatic Swing: Here’s What Changed
What To Know
- Jimmy Kimmel Live! achieved its highest ratings in 23 years in June, averaging 3.15 million total viewers and 505,000 in the key demo.
- The ratings surge was driven by the absence of Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show and strong sports lead-ins.
- Other late-night shows, including NBC’s Tonight Show and CBS’ Comics Unleashed, saw mixed results.
Jimmy Kimmel is officially the new king of late-night after his ABC talk show averaged its highest ratings ever in the month of June.
According to LateNighter, citing Nielsen data, Jimmy Kimmel Live! averaged 3.15 million total viewers and 505,000 viewers in the key Adults 18-49 demographic in June. This was up 24 percent in total viewers and up a massive 112 percent in the demo compared to the month before. It marked the show’s highest monthly average in its 23 years on air.
Compared to the same period in 2025, Kimmel was up 66 percent in total viewers and up 69 percent in the 18-49 demo.
There are a couple of factors that led to such a huge ratings increase. Firstly, June was the first full month without competition from Stephen Colbert‘s The Late Show, which aired its final episode on May 21. CBS replaced Colbert with Byron Allen’s Comics Unleashed, which has failed to come anywhere close to The Late Show‘s numbers.
Secondly, four episodes of Jimmy Kimmel Live! aired after ABC’s coverage of the NBA Finals and the Stanley Cup Final, providing significant lead-ins for Kimmel’s show, especially in the demo. For the June 3, 5, 8, and 10 episodes, Kimmel drew more than 700,000 viewers in the 18-49 demo, the most since his return from suspension episode on September 23.
NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon also saw a boost in total viewers, averaging 1.47 million in June, up 4 percent from the previous month. However, the show, which had NBA playoff lead-ins in May, dropped by 19 percent in the key demo to an average of 195,000.
CBS’ Comics Unleashed averaged 807,000 total viewers and 92,000 demo viewers in its 11:35 pm half-hour slot. This was down 16 percent from its six-episode run in May and down 6 percent in the demo. The 12:05 am episode averaged 548,000 total viewers (down 10 percent) and 67,000 demo viewers (up 6 percent).
Elsewhere, James Corden‘s FIFA World Cup on FOX After Hours averaged 632,000 total viewers and 201,000 demo viewers in the midnight slot.
ABC’s Nightline averaged 1.06 million total viewers (up 17 percent) and 163,000 demo viewers (up 109 percent) in the 12:37 am slot. Meanwhile, NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers averaged 975,000 total viewers (down 7 percent) and 124,000 demo viewers (down 21 percent) in the same slot.
Comedy Central’s The Daily Show averaged 1.22 million total viewers in June (up 12 percent) and 243,000 demo viewers (up 14 percent).
Fox News’ Gutfeld! averaged 2.9 million total viewers (down 5 percent) and 186,000 demo viewers (down 5 percent), while Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live averaged 290,000 total viewers (down 15 percent) and 80,000 demo viewers (down 27 percent).
Conversation9 Comments
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A
And the big loser is...Byron Allen. I can't help but think some CBS executives regret cancelling Colbert when they did, that's for sure!
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J
I thought I heard that Byron Allen bought the time slot, meaning that he pays CBS to air the show, rather than them paying him as they did Colbert. If that's the case, CBS may not care how his show is doing, since they're getting paid regardless. (Unless they're losing advertising revenue, of course.) In any case, when next year's Emmy nominations roll around, I bet CBS won't have anything to boast about in the late-night category.
In any case, I no longer watch any late-night show, it's kind of freeing. :-p
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T
I think this ridiculous change will end up hurting the local CBS stations, when people change to other local channels for the late local news now that Colbert is gone.
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S
No trashing. Kimmel tells us the daily antics of a man who should be a comedian rather than president. He didn't apologize to anyone. Notice he's still doing the same show night after night. Disney doesn't seem to mind. Crying like a little girl? How about a guy who lost an election and stomped his feet whining he really won but actually lost. If we take back the House and Senate soon they'll be some real crying going on when DJT is shown the door and it won't be coming from Kimmel lol.
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R
Yall talking Kimmel or Trump?
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R
Because of the constitution.
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C
Gotta be fake news. How anyone can stand Kimmel and his routine that is simply repeated every single night is unbelievable. Every once in while I try to watch it, but never last more than a few minutes. The only saving grace is the show somehow still gets very cool guests. Would probably get even more if he wasn't such a one sided political hack. I'm not a fan of the state of today's political world, but it's impossible to listen to someone spew the same verbal attacks every. single. night. I'm old enough to remember when he was actually funny.
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M
From what I've heard, not just any form of picture id will work. For example a State issued drivers license will not be acceptable for national elections. and. . you will need an original birth certificate plus a passport. A passport is the only legal ID that establishes citizenship.
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S
Congrats Jimmy on the ratings jump. We knew he'd pick up many of Colbert's viewers although I believe he'd rather have his friend still on the air. How anyone can watch " Comics Unleashed" is a head scratcher. Comics sitting on a couch talking about their mother- in- law or dog is just not great comedy. Blue hairs love it! Good for them I guess. CBS saving so much money allegedly but having a ghost town for an audience. Just how those red team folks do business over there at the eye. Truly mindboggling.
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