ABC’s move to suspend Jimmy Kimmel’s show following his comments on the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk comes amid a decline in late-night TV viewership and advertising revenue.
Disney-owned ABC announced the move on Wednesday after a pair of prominent media groups that own ABC affiliates, Nexstar and Sinclair, announced they would preempt “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” indefinitely following his comments. It’s unclear when Kimmel’s show will return to the airwaves.
Disney confirmed to FOX Business that CEO Bob Iger was involved in removing Kimmel from the air.
ABC’s suspension of Kimmel’s show comes in the wake of the recent decision by Paramount, the parent company of CBS, to end “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” after its current season concludes.
Though the broadcast networks don’t disclose specific data about the profitability or expenses of their respective late-night programs, Puck reported that CBS insiders said Colbert’s show was losing upwards of $40 million a year. Data showing declines in viewership as well as ad revenue suggests late-night TV financial woes may be felt at other networks.
ABC’S ‘JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!’ HEMORRHAGED VIEWERS OVER THE PAST DECADE, LOST 72% AMONG KEY DEMO
LateNighter reported that “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” as well as CBS’s “The Late Show” and NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Seth Meyers” have seen viewership declines of 70% to 80% since 2015 – the year Kimmel’s show moved to 11:35 p.m.
Nielsen data cited in the outlet’s report showed “Jimmy Kimmel Live’s” share of the key demographic of 18 to 49-year-olds declined from 0.68 in 2013-14 to 0.16 in 2024-25.
By comparison, The Late Show’s share of the 18-49 demographic was 0.18 in 2024-25, while “The Tonight Show’s” was 0.13 in that period.
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A network TV research analyst told LateNighter that 2022 was likely the last year that most or even all the traditional network’s late-night shows turned a profit. They also projected that the net losses are likely to widen in the years ahead.
The decline of late-night TV viewership on broadcast networks has coincided with a corresponding decrease in advertising revenue.
Advertising data company Guideline reported that late-night shows on major networks saw their ad revenue decline from $439 million in 2018 to $220 million last year.
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TV networks have also made other cutbacks to the late-night lineup in an effort to shore up their finances amid the evolving viewership and advertising landscape.
Last year, budget cuts at NBC prompted the elimination of the 8G Band, which was the house band for “Late Night With Seth Meyers” from 2014 to 2024.
CBS also opted against replacing “The Late Late Show with James Corden” when the host departed in 2023 after eight years with the show.
The “Late Late Show” was on the air with a variety of hosts from 1995 until two years ago, with Tom Snyder, Craig Kilborn and Craig Ferguson preceding Corden as the host.
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