"And it got a large audience, with ABC reporting nearly 6.3 million people tuned in to the broadcast alone, despite the blackouts in many cities. As is often the case with late-night hosts' monologues, there was a larger audience online, with more than 15 million people watching Kimmel's opening remarks on YouTube by Wednesday evening. ABC says more than 26 million people watched Kimmel's return on social media, including YouTube. Typically, he gets about 1.8 million viewers each night on television."
"ABC stations owned by the Nexstar and Sinclair corporations took Kimmel off the air last week on the same day the network suspended him for comments that angered supporters of slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Those stations kept him off the air Tuesday, when ABC lifted the suspension. The unusual dispute attracted the attention of U.S. senators, who said they wanted to investigate the relationship between the affiliates and President Donald Trump's administration."
Jimmy Kimmel returned to ABC's late-night show after a network suspension for comments about Charlie Kirk. Nexstar and Sinclair-owned ABC affiliates removed his program from their airwaves and continued preemptions even after the suspension was lifted. Senators said they wanted to investigate the affiliates' relationship with the Trump administration. Kimmel delivered an emotional, non-apologetic monologue and honored Kirk's widow. ABC reported nearly 6.3 million television viewers for the return and over 15 million YouTube views of the opening remarks, with more than 26 million social media views overall. Nexstar said its stations will remain preempted while evaluating the program. Together, Nexstar and Sinclair account for about a quarter of ABC's affiliates, including many in smaller cities such as Nashville, Lubbock and Topeka.
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