'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' Ratings skyrocket with triple-digit surge: Sparks buzz online

Jimmy Kimmel's return has been seen as a stunning comeback in the American late-night shows. The show has garnered its highest ratings in a decade.

Jimmy Kimmel Live! has received triple the average ratings on his first show after a weeklong suspension.

American broadcasting network ABC, owned by the company Disney, has confirmed the surge in ratings, reporting that nearly 6.3 million people tuned in to the broadcast. a figure that doesn’t include viewership from the streaming services.

In average ratings, Jimmy Kimmel gets 1.4 to 1.8 million viewers each night on television.

As is commonly seen with the late-night-show hosts’ monologues, there’s a larger audience presence online, with over 15 million people watching Kimmel’s monologue (opening remarks) on YouTube by Wednesday evening, September 24, 2025.

According to the data claimed by ABC, 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' has fetched more than 26 million views on first episode after suspension on social media; that also includes YouTube.

Despite the Jimmy Kimmel Live! blackouts in many cities like Washington, Seattle, Nashville, and St. Louis. And approximately a quarter of ABC stations didn’t run the show, with Nexstar and Sinclair corporations still refusing to bring Kimmel back.

During the first episode after suspension, Kimmel said, “It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man.”

He accused FCC chairman Brenden Carr of “mob tactics” and mocked Carr and the FCC in a skit featuring Robert De Niro.

Kimmel also took a jab at Trump, who has criticized the late-night show host Jimmy Kimmel’s return, saying:

“Our leader celebrates people losing their livelihoods because he can’t take a joke and later adds that Trump’s actions were 'un-American.'”

Netizens hailed the return of Jimmy Kimmel Live! with users sharing their opinion online, particularly on YouTube, where the upload with the caption “Jimmy Kimmel is back” has been viewed over 21 million times.

One user quoted Kimmel’s words and commented, “My show isn’t important. What’s important is that we live in a country where this show can exist.”

Another one vouched for the crew members of the show and wrote, ”Nashville film crew here, thanks so much for posting and also for pointing out the crew members affected in this whole mess. Well spoken.”

A third user, who claimed to be a nurse in Canada, shared her experience of watching the monologue. She wrote, “I’m a nurse in Canada. We had patients who were staying up late to watch your return from their hospital beds. Everyone was so excited!”

At least for now, Trump’s attempt to leverage the federal government to pressurize companies and reshape media and public opinion appears to have spectacularly backfired.