Entertainment
Jimmy Kimmel’s ratings jumped to their highest in years with his return to ABC’s airwaves
The much-anticipated episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” following the comedian’s return from his suspension drew a broadcast audience about four times larger than average, according to Nielsen ratings data. This was despite the late-night show being preempted by about a quarter of all ABC affiliate TV stations in the U.S.
Tuesday’s show drew an estimated 6.26 million total broadcast viewers, Disney said in a news release Wednesday, per numbers compiled by Nielsen, an audience measurement firm. The data does not include those who watched the episode on streaming platforms.
For comparison, according to numbers provided to CBS News by a Disney spokesperson, Kimmel’s show averaged 1.42 million broadcast viewers during its 2024-25 season — less than a quarter of what it saw on Tuesday night.
Tuesday’s broadcast also drew a 0.87 rating in the coveted demographic of adults ages 18 to 49, Disney said, the highest for a single episode of Kimmel’s show since March 2015. The show averaged a 0.13 rating for that age group last season, Disney said.
Kimmel’s monologue also drew more than 26 million views on YouTube and other social platforms, according to Disney, which owns ABC. In it, he showed a video clip of President Trump criticizing the show, saying it “had no ratings.”
The host responded: “Well, I do tonight.”
The late-night show was temporarily preempted last week following comments Kimmel made during a Sept. 15 monologue regarding the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said at the time.
In a Sept. 17 interview, Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr called Kimmel’s remarks “some of the sickest conduct possible,” and said there was a “path forward for suspension over this.” Within hours of Carr’s comments, two major station owners, Nexstar and Sinclair, announced they were preempting Kimmel’s show indefinitely from their affiliates, while ABC also announced that it was “indefinitely” suspending the show.
Nexstar has a deal pending to purchase fellow station operator Tegna for $6.2 billion, and needs the FCC’s approval for it to go through.
While ABC announced Monday that it had made the decision to bring Kimmel back to the airwaves, both Nexstar and Sinclair said this week that the show will continue to be preempted indefinitely.
Nexstar said it is “continuing to evaluate the status” of the show. It operates 33 ABC affiliates, while Sinclair runs 38 ABC stations. According to Disney, the two media companies account for ABC stations in about 23% of the U.S. market, including in large cities such as Nashville and Seattle.
In his monologue Tuesday, while he did not issue a blanket apology over his comments, Kimmel said that “it’s important to me as a human, and that is, you understand that it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man. I don’t think there’s anything funny about it.”
In a Sept. 17 Truth Social post following Kimmel’s suspension, Mr. Trump — who has railed against late-night hosts for years going back to his first administration, and has specifically criticized their ratings — wrote on Truth Social that “[t]he ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED.”
Before the show aired Tuesday, Mr. Trump again took to social media to write that “I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back. The White House was told by ABC that his Show was cancelled!”
contributed to this report.
The White House stated on Saturday, April 4, to deny all claims related to U.S. President Donald Trump being admitted to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
Social media is buzzing with rumours that the 79-year-old president is not in good health.
The speculations started when the White House announced at 11:08 a.m. (local time) that Trump would not make any appearances for the rest of the day.
This is a surprising statement from Trump because he is expected to be at the Mar-a-Lago facility over the weekend, where he plays golf.
The White House immediately responded, declaring that the claim was totally baseless and that Trump had remained committed to his responsibilities.
Health issues have become a consistent theme throughout Trump’s presidency. In particular, his mental and physical ability to serve as president has been brought into question due to several mistakes on his part.
His last known visit to Walter Reed occurred in October when he took an MRI. At that time, Trump said the scan was “perfect.”
In 2025, White House made it public that Trump is suffering from chronic venous insufficiency.
In this condition, veins in the legs struggle to return blood to the heart. However, the doctors assure that the condition is very common in older people.
The U.S. President is also seen wearing cosmetic patches often on the back of his hand.
The White House also denied all these rumours of a possible connection between the disease and cosmetic patches, citing that bruising is due to repeated handshaking, not linked to any vein disease.
The rubbery toy made by Massachusetts-based Schylling, NeeDoh squishies, has unexpectedly gone viral on social media.
The sales of the squishies have skyrocketed, leaving stores empty and resellers charging triple the price.
CEO Paul Weingard reported that the company sold through the entire year’s inventory within the first nine weeks of 2026.
While talking to Business Insider, Weingard said, “Literally within the first nine weeks of the year, we’d sold through the whole year’s inventory. No company can plan for that.”
NeeDoh was introduced by Schylling in 2017, but demand skyrocketed this holiday season after the advent calendar-style pack took off on TikTok and elsewhere online.
Schylling claims that NeeDoh is its biggest-selling product in 52 years.
The toy is priced between $6 to $10, but due to supply chain shortages, resellers on Walmart are selling it for $200.
Where to buy NeeDoh?
The toy is available at Schylling’s official website, the company’s Amazon store, Walmart, and Target. But due to the shutdown of factories in China during the Lunar New Year in February, the company is facing a significant shortage.
Are NeeDoh safe for kids?
According to manufacturers, NeeDosh squishies are manufactured from non-toxic thermoplastic rubber.
Additionally, there’s no BPA, phthalates, or latex. It also complies with U.S. toy safety standards. These standards make it safe for kids.
However, for extra caution, parents are advised not to give squishies to children under 3 years old as they pose choking hazards. The company recommends the toy for ages 5 and up.
There were speculations that Harry, Meghan Markle and their children, Archie, 6, and Lilibet, 4, could return to the UK this summer and meet with King Charles.
However, Harry’s hopes of reconciliation have allegedly been crushed amid mounting pressures on King Charles, 77, who continues to undergo treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer while managing broader challenges.
The latest claims have raised fresh doubts over any imminent royal reconciliation between father-son duo.
From Harry’s point of view, the situation has become deeply upsetting – he feels as though he is being quietly ignored by his father at a moment when he genuinely believed they were beginning to rebuild some form of connection, according to a new report.
An insider claimed to OK!, “He [Harry] is being ghosted and blanked by his own father. It’s devastating for him.”
A royal commentator also revealed that the King had shifted his “focus” elsewhere in recent months.
They said: “There is a growing impression that the King has, to some extent, stepped back from trying to actively engage with the situation. His focus appears to be elsewhere, with a number of pressing responsibilities and concerns taking priority over attempting to resolve matters with Harry.”
In Harry’s view, there are outside influences and pressures shaping how things are unfolding. That perception has deepened his frustration, because it leaves him feeling as though any attempt to rebuild bridges is being complicated by factors he has little or no control over, making progress far harder to achieve.
One insider added: “Harry increasingly senses that what is happening is not just about a breakdown between him and his father, but that there are wider influences and internal dynamics shaping the situation behind the scenes.”
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