With Jimmy Kimmel on Vacation, How Will Late-Night Shows Rank This Summer in Ratings?

by Tony Maglio | June 26, 2020 @ 6:00 AM

Even without an NBA Finals to follow, “Jimmy Kimmel Live” is off to a hot start this summer

Jimmy Kimmel is taking the next few months off — just when he finally surpassed that other pesky late-night Jimmy, Fallon, in TV ratings.

ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” will still have six weeks of original episodes through July and August. The (virtual, likely) guest hosts temporarily filling Kimmel’s loafers present a problem of predictability in terms of TV ratings. Some names may draw a bigger crowd than Kimmel himself would; others may not.

Kimmel knows quite a bit about the ratings power of a good guest host. When the morning show “Live” was trying out guest hosts to become Kelly Ripa’s permanent partner, a sweepstakes ultimately won by Ryan Seacrest, Kimmel drew the highest TV ratings of all 68 temporary fill-ins. He also happened to be the first one in the post-Michael Strahan era. Due to his schedule, though, Kimmel was never a real contender to take over the empty seat first made famous by Regis Philbin.

Also Read: Jimmy Kimmel Apologizes for 'Embarrassing' and 'Thoughtless' Past Blackface Sketches

Last year, Kimmel hosting “Kimmel” came in third (out of three) for the summer season in his late-night time slot, his usual position. The “Man Show” alum was looking up a bit at Jimmy Fallon and NBC’s “The Tonight Show.” Both Jimmys were craning their necks to see Stephen Colbert and CBS’ “Late Show.”

Here’s a breakdown in the key adults 18-49 demographic:

Colbert: 0.41 rating
Fallon: 0.39
Kimmel: 0.37

Also Read: Jon Stewart Can't Believe We're Following the 'Exact Same Advice' From 1918 Pandemic to Survive COVID-19 (Video)

The trio ranked the same way in terms of total viewers, though there, Colbert’s lead is more substantial. See below:

Colbert: 3.20 million viewers
Fallon: 1.93 million
Kimmel: 1.85 million

All viewership statistics in this story come from Nielsen’s Live + 7 Day metric, though daily late-night shows don’t get a ton of DVR viewing.

Also Read: How Daytime Soap Operas Are Holding Up in Pandemic Viewership - Even With Repeats

In summer 2019, which counts May 27 through Sept. 22, Kimmel aired the most original episodes, with 63. Fallon was second with 55 original episodes, Colbert did 53.

It’s important to point out here that Kimmel’s show is only 30 minutes, while Colbert and Fallon go for an hour. (ABC’s “Nightline” follows his show.) Not only is it harder in general to sustain an audience over an hour than it is over 30 minutes, the later shows run, the more viewers bow out and go to bed.

Here’s another thing that typically works in Kimmel’s favor: The NBA Finals serve up a pretty terrific boost to ABC over four-to-seven nights in June. The hoops championship lead-in helped out in 2019, but it doesn’t exist this year.

Also Read: Jimmy Fallon Says He Was Advised to 'Stay Quiet' When 'SNL' Blackface Impression Resurfaced (Video)

That fact makes Kimmel’s initial summer 2020 advancement (in positioning, at least) all the more impressive. The ABC series has crept above NBC’s “Tonight Show” in the early goings.

So far this summer, from May 27 to June 21, the at-home versions of “The Late Show,” “The Tonight Show” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” rank like this in the key demo:

Colbert: 0.34 rating
Kimmel: 0.32
Fallon: 0.31

Also Read: Ratings: ABC News' John Bolton Interview Tops Sunday

And in total viewers:

Colbert: 3.00 million
Kimmel: 2.08 million
Fallon: 1.67 million

Yes, Fallon is looking up at the competition as the suddenly second-place Kimmel prepares to put his feet up.

'30 Rock,' 'Scrubs' and Other TV Shows and Movies Pulled Over Blackface and Racial Insensitivity (Photos)

The May 25 killing of George Floyd while in the custody of Minneapolis police prompted protests over police brutality and racial injustice across the country — leading many networks and streaming services to reconsider programming. Here are some movies and TV shows that have been canceled or shelved (sometimes temporarily).
"COPS"

In the wake of protests over police brutality following the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, the Paramount Network canceled the long-running reality show "COPS" one week ahead of premiering its 33rd season. The show, which ran on Fox for 25 years, jumped to Paramount Network (then called Spike TV) in 2013.

Paramount Network
"Gone With the Wind"

HBO Max quietly pulled the Oscar-winning 1939 movie, which has long been criticized for racist depictions of black people for for glorifying the Civl War-era south, from the weeks-old streaming service. In a statement on June 9, the company explained that the "ethnic and racial prejudices" depicted in the film "were wrong then and are wrong today." The company reintroduced the film with a video introduction noting “the film’s treatment of this world through a lens of nostalgia denies the horrors of slavery, as well as its legacy of racial inequality."
WarnerMedia
"Live PD"

On June 10, A&E abruptly canceled the Dan Abrams-hosted reality show "Live PD" that had been its top-rated series. The decision came amid ongoing protests over police brutality but also followed producers' admission they had destroyed footage of a 40-year-old Texas man who died in police custody after being tased while begging for his life.
A&E
Chris Lilley's “Summer Heights High,” “Angry Boys,” “We Can Be Heroes” and “Jonah From Tonga”

Four comedies from Australian comic Chris Lilley were pulled from Netflix in New Zealand and Australia due to criticisms of the shows’ depictions of people of color and the use of blackface and brownface makeup by Lilley, who is white, and others on the shows. Lilley uses blackface to play black rapper S.mouse in “Angry Boys” and brownface to play Jonah, a teenage Tonga native, in “Summer Heights High” and its spinoff series “Jonah From Tonga.” In “We Can Be Heroes,” he plays Ricky Wong, a Chinese physics student.
Australian Broadcast Company
"Little Britain"

The BBC sketch comedy show, which aired from 2003-05 and featured David Walliams and Matt Lucas playing a range of often stereotypical characters (sometimes in blackface) was pulled from most U.K. streaming services in early June, including Netflix, BBC iPlayer and BritBox.
BBC
"Fawlty Towers"

The BBC removed a 1975 episode of the classic John Cleese sitcom that included a number of racial epithets, including the N-word, from its UKTV streaming service. After lobbying from Cleese and others, the network announced it would reinstate the episode with "extra guidance and warnings ... to highlight potentially offensive content."
BBC
"It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia"

On June 11, Netflix pulled a sixth-season episode of the long-running sitcom from its service in the U.K. over the depiction of two characters wearing blackface. (The series streams on Hulu in the U.S.)
"W/ Bob and David"

On June 16, Netflix pulled an episode of Bob Odenkirk and David Cross’ sketch comedy series “W/ Bob and David” over a sketch that features Cross in blackface. Cross and Odenkirk have since defended the sketch.
Netflix
"The Mighty Boosh" and "The League of Gentleman"

These English comedies were pulled from Netflix in the UK over scenes involving blackface. They were not previously available in the U.S.
A scene from "The Mighty Boosh" via YouTube
"30 Rock"

Co-creators Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, along with NBCUniversal, requested the removal of four episodes containing blackface and other racially insensitive material.

Also Read: Tina Fey Pulls 4 ’30 Rock’ Episodes From Circulation, Apologizes for Blackface Use
NBCU
"Scrubs"

Hulu removed three episodes of the sitcom “Scrubs” which featured blackface at the request of the show’s producers and ABC Studios. Series creator Bill Lawrence had previously tweeted that an effort to remove offensive episodes of the show was in the works.

Also Read: Three ‘Scrubs’ Episodes Featuring Blackface Pulled From Streaming (Exclusive)
NBC
"Community"

In late June, Netflix pulled the “Community” Season 2 episode “Advanced Dungeons & Dragons,” which features Ken Jeong’s character, Ben Chang, wearing blackface during a game of “Dungeons & Dragons."
NBC
"Golden Girls"

Hulu pulled a third-season episode of the classic sitcom in which Rue McClanahan and Betty White's characters are mistaken for wearing blackface when they are actually wearing mud masks.

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New times call for a new look at what we should watch and stream

The May 25 killing of George Floyd while in the custody of Minneapolis police prompted protests over police brutality and racial injustice across the country — leading many networks and streaming services to reconsider programming. Here are some movies and TV shows that have been canceled or shelved (sometimes temporarily).

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