Jimmy Kimmel Back On Air With Record 6.3 Million Viewers, Ratings Jump 343%

Jimmy Kimmel is back with his late-night show and with record numbers. The Jimmy Kimmel Live! host drew 6.3 million viewers on Tuesday night. It was the most-watched regularly scheduled episode in the show's 22-year history, Variety reported.

The broadcast jumped 343 per cent from the previous season's average of 1.4 million viewers, showed TV audience measurement company Nielsen's preliminary data.

Among adults 18-49, Jimmy Kimmel Live! scored a 0.87 rating, a 568 per cent increase from last season's 0.13 and the highest for a regularly scheduled episode since 2015. Kimmel joked about the ratings in his Tuesday monologue, saying critics who claimed the show gets "no ratings" were proven wrong during his return.

He added that efforts to cancel him "backfired," drawing millions of viewers instead.

The show was suspended last week after his comments about right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot dead on September 10 in Utah. Tyler Robinson, the suspected shooter, has been arrested and charged.

In his September 15 monologue, Kimmel said the "MAGA gang" was "trying to characterise this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them" to "score political points from" the killing. The remarks led to backlash, after which ABC pulled the show temporarily.

On his return, Kimmel said, "You understand that it was never my intention to make light of a murder of a young man. I don't think there's anything funny about it."

He added, "I understand that to some, that felt either ill-timed or unclear, or maybe both, and for those who think I did point a finger, I get why you're upset."

"I don't think the murderer who shot Charlie Kirk represents anyone. This is a sick person who believes violence is a solution, and it isn't," he said.

Despite high ratings, Nexstar will keep preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live! on its ABC stations while evaluating the show and discussing with Disney to ensure it respects community interests, as per The NY Post.