Overview

• ABC says Jimmy Kimmel Live drew about 6.2–6.3 million broadcast viewers, the show's best linear audience in a decade, with more than 26 million views of his monologue on social platforms.
• Roughly 23% of U.S. TV households could not watch on Tuesday because Nexstar and Sinclair continued to preempt the program in their ABC affiliate markets.
• Kimmel addressed and clarified his earlier remarks about Charlie Kirk’s killing, saying it was not his intention to make light of the murder, and he paid tribute to Erika Kirk.
• President Trump posted that he may “test ABC” with legal action and boasted of prior payouts, while Kimmel’s second-night monologue mocked the threats and his “bad ratings” claim.
• FCC Chair Brendan Carr publicly urged stations to drop the show, fueling free‑speech concerns as legal experts questioned the basis for punitive action, and a Needham note urged Disney to shift focus away from regulated broadcast toward streaming.