Jimmy Kimmel’s audience has declined since his return.
Jimmy Kimmel lost over 70% of the total viewers, and about 85% in the key audience.
Kimmel’s return show had 1.7 million viewers in the same key group. This is down from 265,000.
Jimmy Kimmel’s ratings boom seems to be going downhill.
Disney temporarily suspended ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! last month, after the host’s comments about the alleged killer of Charlie Kirk caused widespread backlash. Disney’s decision to reverse course brought a huge audience for the liberal comedian’s much-anticipated return on September 23, after Disney reversed its previous position.
On Thursday, October 2, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” had an average of 1.9 million viewers. This is 71% less than the audience who tuned in to watch the host return after his suspension.
Even more dramatic was the decline in the highly sought-after demographic of adults 25-54, with “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” attracting only 265,000 of this critical group of viewers on Thursday. This is a loss of 85% from the 1.7 millions who watched on September 23. Kimmel had his lowest demo viewership since the suspension.
Kimmel’s show averaged 1.6 millions viewers in 2025, before Disney decided to temporarily sideline Kimmel. Another drop in viewership would bring the show back to its pre scandal audience.
Fox News’ Greg Gutfeld had a much higher average of viewers on the 1st October – 2.98 million.
As a comparison, Fox News’ Greg Gutfeld averaged 2,98 million viewers in October 1, the same number as he averaged during Q3.
