‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ Ratings Show Huge, Dramatic Swing

The latest late-night ratings are in, and Jimmy Kimmel Live! is off to a strong start this June, marking its highest-rated week since last fall when Kimmel returned from his temporary suspension.

According to LateNighter, citing Nielsen Live+3 ratings data for the week of June 1, Jimmy Kimmel Live! averaged 2.89 million total viewers and 516,000 viewers in the coveted 18-49 demographic across four original episodes and one rerun. This was up 19 percent in total viewers and up a huge 105 percent in the demo compared to the week prior.

Kimmel’s numbers received a boost from the NBA Finals lead-ins, including Wednesday’s (June 10) post-Game 1 broadcast, which drew 3.89 million total viewers (the second-highest of the season) and 751,000 demo viewers. Friday’s (June 12) post-Game 2 episode averaged 3.38 million total viewers and 846,000 in the key demo.

Over on NBC, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon averaged 1.37 million total viewers and 164,000 demo viewers across its four original episodes and one rerun. This was down 3 percent in total viewers and down 39 percent in the demo compared to the previous week.

CBS’ Late Show replacement, Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen, also continued to shed viewers. The show’s 11:35 pm half-hour averaged 786,000 total viewers (down 11 percent) and 80,000 demo viewers (down 15 percent). It’s 12:05 am half-hour averaged 520,000 viewers (down 12 percent) and 57,000 demo viewers (down 8 percent).

Comics Unleashed‘s one-hour average (653,000 total viewers and 69,000 demo viewers) is down significantly from Colbert’s final full quarter, which averaged 2.7 million total viewers and 233,000 demo viewers.

NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers returned to the 12:37 am slot after a week of repeats, averaging 897,000 total viewers (up 17 percent) and 103,000 demo viewers (down 16 percent).

ABC’s Nightline, also airing in the 12:37 am slot, averaged 1.17 million total viewers (up 24 percent) and 215,000 demo viewers (up 159 percent).

Meanwhile, on cable, Fox News’ Gutfeld! averaged 2.97 million total viewers (up 3 percent) and 213,000 demo viewers (up 36 percent) across five original episodes in the 10 pm slot. In the same slot, Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live averaged 353,000 total viewers (up 3 percent) and 103,000 demo viewers (down 9 percent).

Finally, Comedy Central’s The Daily Show returned to the 11 pm slot after a week off, averaging 1.04 million total viewers and 201,000 in the demo.

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