By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2026-07-23 17:07:11 | Updated at 2026-07-27 12:00:51
3 days ago
ABC host Jimmy Kimmel playfully paid thanks to CBS for a recent spike in his show's ratings in an interview this week.
New Nielsen data showed the program averaging 3.15 million viewers per-night throughout the month of June - the most in the program's history.
Kimmel, 58, said the success could be traced to Stephen Colbert's ouster earlier this year.
'The ratings are very strong, which we are very grateful to CBS for their wisdom,' he told Variety in a statement.
'We were doing pretty well before that, but that really helped,' Kimmel - currently vacationing for the summer - added.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! has long trailed The Late Show in viewership.
The latter aired its last episode in May, after showrunners said it was losing money.
Kimmel, Colbert, and several others have maintained otherwise, arguing the decision to do away with the show was political.
ABC late night host Jimmy Kimmel took a stab at the network's longtime rival CBS while on vacation for the summer on Tuesday
Kimmel, 58, said his recent success could be traced to Stephen Colbert's ouster earlier this year in a statement to Variety. Kimmel has previously asserted that the decision was political and due to Colbert's comments about parent company Paramount and the administration
Colbert openly criticized Paramount - CBS's parent company - after the company reached a $16 million settlement with Trump for what many viewed as a baseless lawsuit.
Colbert called the move 'a big fat bribe,' pointing out how a long-in-limbo merger between Paramount and Skydance was solidified by the federal government within weeks of the settlement.
Just days later, the host received word that his show was being canceled, while on vacation himself. The official reason given was declining ad revenue.
Both Paramount and CBS have continued to say the decision was made for financial reasons.
A July report from Puck citing unnamed sources claimed the show was losing $40 million a year.
Kimmel, in an interview with Vulture last month, pushed back on that very report, maintaining, 'These are just made-up numbers.'
'There are far more people watching late-night TV than there ever were, if you look at the number of views me and my colleagues get online every day and add in our linear-television ratings,' Kimmel proclaimed.
He called it 'silly' to suggest the format has become less relevant.
Kimmel previously said his fellow late-night host's cancellation was like ‘looking at his own future’, while stoking claims the host was canceled for political reasons
Kimmel - formerly the cohost of the Man Show - has hosted Jimmy Kimmel Live! for 23 years.
His current contract is set to expire in May of next year.
Year-over-year, his ratings have surged 66 percent in total and 69 percent among adults 18–49, according to Nielsen.
He's slated to return to the air in September, with an array of rotating guests filling in in the meantime. Kimmel has been off since June 18.
