Jimmy Kimmel Lost Nearly Half His Audience in 2025 Ratings Freefall Before Disney Pulled Him Off the Air

Everyone’s been discussing Jimmy Kimmel‘s temporary removal from television, but no one seems to be mentioning the real issue: how many people are actually watching his show.

The unexpected decision to take Jimmy Kimmel off the air on ABC has been the main story in the news. Many commentators are seeing this as a political issue, with some suggesting Disney responded to pressure from conservatives after Kimmel was accused of spreading false information on television about the person allegedly involved in an incident with Charlie Kirk.

You know, the media’s been focusing on the drama around Jimmy Kimmel leaving, but what they *aren’t* really talking about is how much his ratings had fallen beforehand. I mean, from January to September 2025, he lost almost half his viewers! It’s a pretty significant drop, and I think it’s a key part of the whole story that’s being overlooked.

The viewership numbers tell the real story. This show wasn’t cancelled while it was still popular and successful. It was steadily losing viewers each month, and ABC and Disney ultimately decided to end it because of that decline.

The Controversy That Triggered the Pull

Jimmy Kimmel faced major criticism after suggesting the person who allegedly attempted to harm Charlie Kirk was connected to supporters of President Trump, even though police evidence contradicted that claim. The response was swift: FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr condemned Kimmel’s comments as deeply inappropriate and hinted at possible regulatory action. Additionally, both Nexstar and Sinclair, major ABC affiliates, announced they would stop airing Kimmel’s show on their stations.

Disney and ABC leaders, including CEO Bob Iger and entertainment chief Dana Walden, have decided to temporarily stop airing *Jimmy Kimmel Live!*. Although some reports suggested this was about censorship, *Deadline* stated that Kimmel wouldn’t apologize, leaving the network with no other option. CNBC’s Alex Sherman clarified that Kimmel hasn’t been fired, but the show is currently replaced with old episodes while Disney decides what to do next.

A Ratings Collapse Hiding in Plain Sight

Interestingly, almost nobody is mentioning the really poor ratings for *Jimmy Kimmel Live!*

By the beginning of 2025, *Jimmy Kimmel Live!* was attracting an average of 1.95 million viewers overall, with around 212,000 falling into the important 18-49 age group favored by advertisers. However, these numbers were lower than those for *The Late Show with Stephen Colbert* and only slightly better than *The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon*.

By August 2025, it was clear the show’s viewership was falling rapidly. Total viewers dropped to 1.104 million, with only 129,000 in the key demographic. This represented a 45% decrease in overall audience and almost a 40% drop in the important demo group, all within just seven months.

Even Jimmy Kimmel’s best month, June, when he briefly reached 284,000 viewers, now seems like a temporary high point before his ratings sharply declined. By late summer, his show’s viewership had fallen to levels typically seen on cable channels, which is unusually low for a major network talk show host.

Comparing Kimmel to Colbert

To see how significant the current situation is, let’s look at Stephen Colbert’s numbers before his show was canceled. In the second quarter of 2025, *The Late Show* averaged 2.42 million viewers overall, with around 219,000 of those being adults aged 18-49. By August, viewership had increased to 2.8 million total viewers and 264,000 in that key demographic.

Colbert’s show reached more than twice as many viewers as Kimmel’s in both key demographics. However, despite these strong numbers, reports indicated the show was losing CBS between $40 and $50 million each year due to declining advertising revenue and expensive production.

If Stephen Colbert, despite having double the viewers of Jimmy Kimmel, couldn’t make his show profitable, it raises serious questions about the financial performance of *Jimmy Kimmel Live!*. ABC may have been facing losses potentially exceeding tens of millions of dollars, especially considering Kimmel’s declining ratings and increasing controversies.

Disney’s Predicament

Disney is in a tough spot. Bringing Jimmy Kimmel back could further turn away viewers and advertisers who have already stopped watching due to falling ratings. However, replacing him would mean acknowledging that he’s become a problem for the network, rather than a valuable part of it.

Advertising revenue for late-night talk shows across major networks has significantly decreased. In 2018, shows on ABC, CBS, and NBC earned almost $440 million a year from ads. But by 2024, that number had fallen to just $221 million – a 50% drop. Because of this shrinking ad market and fewer viewers tuning in to Jimmy Kimmel’s show, its future was uncertain regardless of any changes.

A Manufactured Media Narrative

A lot of news coverage has centered on whether Disney tried to suppress Kimmel’s voice. However, the real issue is that people had simply stopped watching his show. He wasn’t attracting a large audience – his nightly viewership on traditional TV was just over one million.

Honestly, when I hear people upset about Jimmy Kimmel losing his political bits, I just don’t get it. Look at all the creators on YouTube – they’re building huge audiences *without* any big network support. It really shows how out of touch this whole complaint is. Most regular folks like me haven’t watched Kimmel’s monologues in ages, so it feels like the people *inside* the media world are the only ones who really care.

The Bigger Picture

Jimmy Kimmel leaving his show is part of a larger problem: late-night TV is losing viewers. Stephen Colbert is stepping down, Jimmy Fallon’s ratings are down, and even Saturday Night Live is seeing fewer people tune in. Younger viewers are watching content online instead, and older viewers aren’t interested in comedy that feels overly political and biased.

Here’s the reality Disney isn’t admitting: if *Jimmy Kimmel Live!* was still making a lot of money, they’d likely be more willing to work through any issues to keep him. Big companies have faced criticism and lost support in the past when it was financially worthwhile to fight for something. However, with Kimmel’s ratings and advertising revenue both significantly down, the show now seems more like a burden than a valuable asset to Disney.

Partners are avoiding him, government watchdogs are investigating, and viewers have lost interest. This puts Disney in a tough spot where defending him isn’t a brave move – it’s simply investing more in something that’s already losing money.

Conclusion

By the time Jimmy Kimmel left his show, viewership had dropped by half since January 2025. This significant decline in both overall viewers and the key 18-49 age group meant Disney was left with a late-night program that wasn’t performing well and was likely losing money.

Some people will argue Jimmy Kimmel’s show suffered because of his political opinions, while others will claim this is about free speech. However you see it, the numbers show that fewer and fewer Americans were tuning in to watch.

2025-09-19 21:58