Jimmy Kimmel Re-Ups With ABC for Two Years

Late night host is now locked in through January 2017

Jimmy Kimmel April Fool's Day

ABC has given Jimmy Kimmel a new two-year contract extension, keeping him around through January 2017.

Kimmel is currently in his 11th season of “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” though the ABC late night talker has been in the coveted 11:35 p.m. timeslot since just January of last year, when it swapped spots with “Nightline.”

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Since that time, the landscape has clearly shifted. At NBC’s “Tonight Show,” Jay Leno is out and Jimmy Fallon is in, and has dominated the ratings since his mid-February debut.

Last month, David Letterman announced his pending CBS “Late Show” retirement. Not long after, the network tapped Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert as Letterman’s 2015 replacement.

With “Tonight” moving back to New York City, Kimmel only has TBS’ Conan O’Brien to battle for guests out west.

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Kimmel, who has shown the importance in creating viral material from the timeslot, has seen ratings success even against stiff competition.

Versus the same point last season, “JKL” is up 16 percent in total viewers — 2.7 million vs. 2.3 million — and 13 percent in the advertiser-sought 18-49 demographic, with a 0.71 average rating vs. last year’s 0.63. This marks the fourth straight season of growth for Kimmel’s show.

Kimmel recently brought in his largest audience ever with a special “Scandal” episode.

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