Staff Reports
Jimmy Kimmel’s return to the airwaves drew an enormous, headline-grabbing audience as millions tuned in to watch the fallout from his suspension. ABC reported roughly 6.26 million viewers for the comeback episode, a level the network says it hadn’t seen from the show in over a decade.
The surge came after Disney briefly pulled Kimmel following a controversial monologue, a move that set off a national debate about speech, censorship, and corporate kowtowing. Major station groups Nexstar and Sinclair initially refused to carry the show, leaving large swaths of the country without the broadcast and turning the episode into must-see TV for cable and streaming audiences.
What the media cheerleaders rushed to call a vindication quickly proved to be an ephemeral ratings spike, however, as viewership fell sharply in subsequent broadcasts. By the middle of the week the nightly numbers had slumped to roughly 2.2–2.4 million viewers — a decline of roughly two-thirds from the one-night peak — showing that many tuned in just for the spectacle, not sustained support.
This is exactly why the woke class in Hollywood should stop pretending ratings record short-lived outrage as a mandate from the public. The affiliates that balked at running Kimmel’s show were right to push back against Disney’s initial handling, and the rapid reversion toward normal numbers proves the public isn’t falling for manufactured moral panics.
Disney’s scramble and ABC’s flip-flop expose how easily corporate media caves when political pressure hits the balance sheet, then gaslights viewers about success when a one-off spike suits their narrative. Hardworking Americans see through the tantrum theater: they’ll tune in to see a spectacle, but they won’t pay to subsidize endless sermons from celebrities who mock their values on a daily basis.
If anything, the week-long episode should be a lesson for every executive in media: put local stations and viewers first, not woke PR; stop treating controversy as a growth strategy; and remember that real, steady audiences are won by respecting the public, not by staging stunts. The short-lived ratings flash of Kimmel’s comeback proves the market’s verdict — and the market isn’t impressed.
