What To Make Of Sinclair's 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' Decision Amid The Show's 70% Ratings Drop

Jimmy Kimmel won — for now.

ABC reinstated the late-night host early this week after a brief suspension, and Sinclair agreed to stop preempting "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on its ABC affiliates effective immediately. Nexstar, which continues to block the show on its 32 affiliates, is likely to follow.

Station owners like Sinclair and Nexstar never had much long-term leverage. ABC could eventually cancel and replace its affiliates ahead of the 2027 Super Bowl, which would significantly damage Sinclair and Nexstar’s annual revenue.

Nonetheless, Kimmel and his supporters will undoubtedly tout the events of the past week as a win over Donald Trump, who sharply criticized ABC for bringing Kimmel back on air.

"I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back. The White House was told his Show was canceled! Something happened between then and now because his audience is GONE, and his ‘talent’ was never there… Why would they want someone back who does so poorly, who’s not funny, and who puts the Network in jeopardy by playing 99% positive Democrat GARBAGE," Trump wrote on Truth Social, just an hour before Kimmel’s Tuesday return.

Jimmy Kimmel is back on the air, but his long-term future with ABC remains a question. (Photo by Christopher Willard/Disney via Getty Images)

Still, Kimmel's long-term future with ABC remains a question. For those wondering if Kimmel could retain his newfound momentum, his ratings on Wednesday suggest no.

While Wednesday's average of 2.4 million is well ahead of Kimmel's norm (1.7 million), it marked a near 70% drop from Tuesday's record 6.3 million.

• Late-night ratings on Wednesday:
• Gutfeld! (Fox News): 3,233,000
• Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC): 2,414,000
• The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS): 1,988,000
• The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (NBC): 1,244,000

Now you see why CNN media analyst Brian Stelter, who so badly wants Kimmel to notice him, is touting Kimmel's YouTube numbers this morning, not his television audience.

Looking ahead, Kimmel's show will almost certainly drop back below 2 million by next week. At that point, the show will again be performing well below its means.

Between Kimmel making around $17 million a year, his large staff, and the show's production out of Los Angeles, ABC is almost certainly losing money on the program.

For comparison, CBS is losing around $40 million per year by producing Stephen Colbert's competing late-night program, which draws 30% more viewers than Kimmel's.

Perhaps the Disney-owned ABC will keep Kimmel on air to avoid left-wing critics and Hollywood elites accusing the corporation of cowering to Trump's fascist regime. However, Kimmel's contract is reportedly up in 2026. Financially, ABC will not be able to justify re-signing him.

Prediction: Kimmel’s "victory" will be short-lived.