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Sports continued to pay dividends for Jimmy Kimmel Live!, with a mix of NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Final lead-ins helping propel the ABC late-night show to its highest-rated week since the week of Kimmel’s return from suspension in September 2025.
According to Nielsen Live+3 ratings data for the week of June 8, 2026, Kimmel averaged 3.07 million total viewers (+6 percent) and 551,000 adults 18–49 (+7 percent) across four original episodes and one repeat, easily leading the 11:35 p.m. field in both key measurements.
The scale of Kimmel’s lead was striking. His weekly average more than doubled that of NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and exceeded the combined audience of CBS’ two nightly Comics Unleashed telecasts by nearly 5-to-1.
The week’s biggest audience came Monday following Game 3 of the NBA Finals, when Jimmy Kimmel Live! drew 3.85 million total viewers and 805,000 adults 18–49. Wednesday’s post-Game 4 episode also delivered strong returns with 3.41 million viewers and 737,000 adults 18–49. Together, the two telecasts ranked among the show’s most-watched episodes of the season.
ABC’s Nightline also benefited from the network’s sports-heavy week, climbing to 1.25 million total viewers (+7 percent) and 267,000 adults 18–49 (+25 percent).
NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon averaged 1.37 million total viewers (flat) and 190,000 adults 18–49 (+16 percent) across four original episodes and one repeat.
On CBS, the first half-hour of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen averaged 768,000 total viewers (–2 percent) and 85,000 adults 18–49 (+6 percent) across five first-run episodes, while a second telecast at 12:05 a.m. averaged 532,000 viewers (+2 percent) and 60,000 adults 18–49 (+6 percent).
Taken together, the two Comics Unleashed telecasts averaged 650,000 total viewers and 73,000 adults 18–49, essentially flat with the prior week.
Allen’s companion series, Funny You Should Ask, remained relatively stable as well. Its 12:35 a.m. telecast averaged 433,000 viewers (–2 percent) and 51,000 adults 18–49 (–4 percent), while its 1:05 a.m. airing averaged 385,000 total viewers (+1 percent) and 49,000 adults 18–49 (+15 percent).
At 12:37 a.m., NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers averaged 905,000 total viewers (+1 percent) and 124,000 adults 18–49 (+21 percent) across four original episodes and one repeat.
Switching to cable, Fox News’ Gutfeld!, which airs at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT averaged 2.85 million total viewers (–4 percent) from five first-run episodes. In the demo, the show delivered 183,000 adults 18–49 (–14 percent).
Comedy Central’s The Daily Show averaged 1.03 million total viewers (–1 percent) and 199,000 adults 18–49 (–1 percent) across four original episodes, three of them hosted by Desi Lydic.
Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live averaged 290,000 total viewers (–18 percent) and 74,000 adults 18–49 (–29 percent) across four original episodes.
Complete ratings charts for the week of June 8, 2026, follow below.
Note: Time period listed is the most common airtime for each show.
Live+ 3 Ratings — All Viewers (P2+)
| Avg Share (%) | Avg Viewers (000’s) | Vs Last Wk | |
| 10:00 PM | |||
| Gutfeld! (FNC)† 5 first-run episodes | 5.49 | 2,847 | -4% |
| Watch What Happens Live (Bravo)* 4 first-run episodes | 0.62 | 290 | -18% |
| 11:00 PM | |||
| The Daily Show (COM)* 4 first-run episodes | 2.64 | 1,029 | -1% |
| 11:35 PM | |||
| Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC) 4 first-run episodes, 1 repeat | 12.78 | 3,066 | +6% |
| The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (NBC) 4 first-run episodes, 1 repeat | 4.98 | 1,370 | 0% |
| Comics Unleashed (CBS)* 5 first-run episodes | 2.56 | 768 | -2% |
| 12:05 AM | |||
| Comics Unleashed (CBS)* 5 repeats | 2.27 | 532 | +2% |
| 12:35 AM | |||
| Funny You Should Ask (CBS)* 5 repeats | 2.23 | 385 | +1% |
| 12:37 AM | |||
| Nightline (ABC)* 5 first-run episodes | 7.20 | 1,250 | +7% |
| Late Night with Seth Meyers (NBC) 4 first-run episodes, 1 repeat | 5.10 | 905 | +1% |
| 1:05 AM | |||
| Funny You Should Ask (CBS)* 5 repeats | 2.39 | 433 | -2% |
Live+ 3 Ratings — In the Demo (P18-49)
| US Share (%) | US AA Proj (000’s) | Vs Last Wk | |
| 10:00 PM | |||
| Gutfeld! (FNC)† 5 first-run episodes | 1.52 | 183 | -14% |
| Watch What Happens Live (Bravo)* 4 first-run episodes | 0.81 | 74 | -29% |
| 11:00 PM | |||
| The Daily Show (COM)* 4 first-run episodes | 2.21 | 199 | -1% |
| 11:35 PM | |||
| Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC) 4 first-run episodes, 1 repeat | 11.02 | 551 | +7% |
| The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (NBC) 4 first-run episodes, 1 repeat | 3.21 | 190 | +16% |
| Comics Unleashed (CBS)* 5 first-run episodes | 1.33 | 85 | +6% |
| 12:05 AM | |||
| Comics Unleashed (CBS)* 5 repeats | 1.22 | 60 | +6% |
| 12:35 AM | |||
| Funny You Should Ask (CBS)* 5 repeats | 1.26 | 49 | +15% |
| 12:37 AM | |||
| Nightline (ABC)* 5 first-run episodes | 7.47 | 267 | +25% |
| Late Night with Seth Meyers (NBC) 4 first-run episodes, 1 repeat | 3.34 | 124 | +21% |
| 1:05 AM | |||
| Funny You Should Ask (CBS)* 5 repeats | 1.47 | 51 | -4% |
Ratings data © The Nielsen Company, used under license.
I’m sure the local CBS affiliates are thrilled. IF ending the Late Show truly was a financially motivated decision, it will have been penny wise, but pound foolish. Getting trounced that badly in ratings in the 11:30 time slot doesn’t just affect that hour.
Trust fund…small hat like they all are, but your weak mind won’t go there.
All of the HATE on David Ellison cracks me up. He is a visionary risk-taker who has the money to try new thing with Broadcast programming, streaming, movies, and whatever comes next. I admire his chutzpah and the fact that he has something amazingly successful to support his vision: Sky Dance..
boy, you sure drank alot of the kool-aid huh? dumbass.
NOPE; all the business stuff and his vision, NONE of that matters when Ellison is siding and enabling a pedo-loving President and his cabinet of fascist, power hungry husks by owning and merging multiple media networks into a propaganda monopoly machine~
And you’re no different from them if you choose to ignore all those factors over censorship and money~
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
My, but you’re amusing, in an unintended manner!
I will never watch Comics Unleashed. A matter of principle.
not only that show but anything on CBS. they sold there soul to the pedophile in the white house. I will not lower my morals by giving them a minute of my time.
CBS does NOT need you. You are now free to go to your safe space.
The Ellisons have bitten off more than they can chew! Their right wing ideological driven business model will ruin them!
You don’t want to let a colored guy into your living room.
nice try.
“Collud.”
And I thought Gutfeld was the king of late night. 🤣🤣🤣
He’s more the ignorant asswipe of late night!
I know. “Winning” bothers you when everyone you support are losers in polls and ratings. Ouch. Yes, I meant it. LOL.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Check the polls, you dumbass stupidfuck! Nobody likes the way you ideological turds are running everything into the ground! Look at what your manbaby of a president did to the White House! He turned that into a white trash hellscape with that UFC match on the WH grounds!
You fuckholes think you’re shit don’t stink! But, like your pedophile in chief, you reek, bitch!
Local affiliates can’t be happy with these numbers, regardless how CBS spins it or what creative accounting they present.
The CBS Affiliate’s agreement may be vague for a reason. More stations will pre-empt “Comics” if they are not making money. However, I believe “Comics” to merely be a band-aid to give CBS some “space” in-between” Colbert and their next BIG Network Late Night show.
no question Byron Allen has come a long way in the industry. but it says alot when you have to pay the network to air your shows. I understand the financial incentive is make money from advertisement, but I do not see the show making much as Jimmy Kimmel is now and was before Colbert being fired a top contender for the late night shows. Colbert appeals to the more mature audience, either way love them both for their resistance to the criminal administration we have. good luck Byron, do not think you or pretty much anyone can successfully fill those shoes brother.
You don’t like them either but for some bizarre reason you pretend to. Do you think you’ll get to heaven lying like this?
I have bad news for you, bitch hole! Your slobbering support of Drumpf alone has already booked you a one way ticket to the Ninth Circle of Hell! And everything else about you is just as bad!
Byron Allen’s ratings are “stable”?
Reminds me of the old SNL joke “Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead. “
Like Colbert, are they making or losing money?
Most of them aren’t really all that funny,just political pundits.
How much does it COST NBC and ABC to reach 1.3 and 2.2 million viewers respectively versus CBS which is spending NOTHING?
BOYCOTT CBS!
cbs got just what they deserved
Getting rid of a 40 MILLION dollar loser and replacing it with a 15 MILLIOIN dollar per year profit center?
Cratering ratings!
Jimmy Kimmel’s ratings are miniscule compared to Greg Guttfeld’s
He wouldn’t succeed outside his right wing bubble, because he’s too toxic a right wing hack!
Uhhh…did you look at the numbers up above?
Gutfeld! (FNC)†
5 first-run episodes 5.49 2,847
Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC)
4 first-run episodes, 1 repeat 12.78 3,066
The market share still decreased overall. Not a good sign for this obsolete format. Kimmel got over double this number during that fake controversy that forced him to bring out the overused crocodile tears and frog voice. And within a month those gains were gone. If he were smart or just invested in his future, which he is neither, he would not take the summer off but try to build on the inflated viewership blip, but he knows he’s done in 2027 or 2028 no matter what numbers he puts up because this genre is circling the drain.
I believe that Late Night Television is in a “reset” mode. Kimmel has not altered his “act” in any way and is causing heat for ABC/Disney’s Broadcast Television Network Business. In the end, it is about dollars and cents. Jimmy will likely be done at the end of this contract. It was telling that ABC was not willing to sign him for two years whch would be “JKL’s” 25th Anniversary.
Your Dear Toddler Drumpf tried to have him removed for saying mean truths about him!
Why the fuck do you fucking babies hate freedom of speech?
Johnny Carson had 8 to 12 million a night over 30 years ago w 55 million plus watching his final show. A hot Wing interview show does better than Kimmel. yes there are more options now but the population has exploded since 92. With the lead ins and Colbert out of the game 4 million is pretty sad
this is not surprising. Comics Unleashed has been on tv for about 20 years now. It wasn’t funny then, and it isn’t funny now. it’s too bad that Kimmy Jimmel is benefiting from CBS’ monumental bad decision. People should watch Jimmy Fallon, he’s a lot more entertaining.
😰 UM, after that Connor McGregor interview controversy, i wouldn’t convince people to stick w/Fallon. A JKL summer guest host (excluding Jelly Roll) will fare better than someone who humanizes a public figure accused of rape and sexual assault.
Now of course, LateNighter won’t report that, but at the same time, that appearance alone raised eyebrows for other entertainment outlets that can’t be ignored.
Between both Jimmys, it’s pretty clear Kimmel has evolved beyond his chud, sexist, machismo trash humor and weaponized his dickish, troll-like humor towards more important, corrupt targets; meanwhile, Fallon did not learn his lesson after a decade and hasn’t been self-conscious enough to distance from shitty people like McGregor, unless he’s willing to hold them accountable before entering his premises.
And if that’s not enough, take a look at both Jimmys’ receipts in response to Colbert’s cancellation last year. It’s clear Kimmel stepped up and doubled down on condemning CBS while Fallon threw softballs and didn’t do enough to raise eyebrows.
Colbert was a competitor, so it was good Fallon said little about CBS cancelling his $40-million dollar a year losing show.
Because your Dear Toddler Drumpf ordered the Ellisons to remove his show for saying mean things about him!
Why the fuck do you continue to lie, Mucky Boy?
Crap, Zero, you lose again like Colbert. ‘After Midnite’ was also cancelled along well before the Ellisons took over.
Is Colbert still alive? It’s been a month and nobody cares anymore. lol
You, OTOH, are a fucked up loser with severe mental issues that needs to get away from your mommy’s computer and get a life!
And After Midnight’s not the same as the other late night talk shows! But dumbfucks like you still need to try and jam that square peg into that round hole, because you’re fucking stupid, Mucky Boy the Stupid!
Zero, let’s compile a list of shows cancelled before Ellisons took over Paramount.
Corden, which led to After Midnight
After Midnight – cancelled
Lily Singh – cancelled
Larry Wilmore – cancelled
Samantha Bee – cancelled
Conan on TBS – cancelled.
What’s one thing they all have in common? Ellisons had no connection in their connection. Let me add loser Colbert to that list…lol.
Now, can anybody can answer the question? It’s been a full month since loser Colbert’s last episode, and nobody gives a damn….hahahahahahahahahaha
Not every show gets cancelled, stupidfuck! Conan walked away from his show to try new ventures. Same with Corden!
But to a mentally handicapped numbnut like you, they all got cancelled for being too liberal, or whatever bullshit you pull out of your fat unwiped ass, Mucky Boy!
You’re too fucking stupid to keep playing, boy!
Thank you proving my point you dumb f*ckwit that all those shows were cancelled had nothing to do with the Ellisons or President Trump. You just proved my point you moronic Zero! You truly are a zero! Hahahahhahahaha
You claim all the show you mentioned got cancelled for having too much of a liberal bias! And I’m telling you, you’re full of shit, as usual!
Why the fuck do you continue to make a fucking fool of yourself, you bigoted, hate filled loser?
Zero, try and think carefully with your three combined brain cells.
What’s one thing they all have in common? Ellisons had no connection in their cancellation, like with Colbert’s cancellation.
Please answer the question…..it’s been a full month since loser Colbert’s last episode, and nobody still gives a damn….ROFLMAOPIMP
That people don’t like late night anymore because…what exactly?
You fuckfaces all want everyone to believe that the public is sick and tired of the message late night shows are giving people, because they contrast with your fascist MAGA agenda! That’s why you’re going off about Colbert and Kimmel like a crazy person standing on a street corner shouting out insanity while wearing tinfoil on their heads!
What you are is a crybaby loser, Mucky Boy! You want people to bow down to your hate fueled toddler! Not gonna happen!
And check the comments here! People DO care about Colbert losing his show, because of the hit Drumpf put out on him!
And you accuse me of having three brains cells!🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Once again, you project more than a multiplex, Mucky Boy!
Look at the list again, Zero, and tell me how exactly did the Ellison cancel these shows? And then you have the nerve to say they cancelled Colbert due to politics? Stop with the fucking lying. He got cancelled because that loser lost $100 million in three years.
Zero, let’s compile a list of shows cancelled before Ellisons took over Paramount.
Corden, which led to After Midnight
After Midnight – cancelled
Lily Singh – cancelled
Larry Wilmore – cancelled
Samantha Bee – cancelled
Conan on TBS – cancelled.
Why did the Ellisons cancel all these shows? hahahahahahahahaha…gawd, you’re beyond dumb.
Because that’s what it was! Drumpf ordering the Ellisons to cancel his show, if they want any future deals approved by him. like WarnerDiscovery!
And all those other shows weren’t cancelled due to them being expensive! Some of them left to try new projects. And Lily Singh was on a streaming service, and not part of the late night group!
You keep saying they cost them money, but it’s obvious Colbert was forced out and Kimmel was almost forced out due your manbaby in chief wanting them removed! You can keep on denying it and lying about it, but that was the cold hard truth! and a dumbass loser, like you, that can’t think its way out of a wet paper bag!
You can deny it all you want! You can repeat the same dumb talking points ad nauseum. But that’s the cold hard truth, Mucky Boy! You MAGAts are all whiny assed diaper babies that cry over the slightest insults at Drumpf! You deserve all the scorn coming your way, and I’ll see to it that you receive it, boy!
Zero, you’re a toxic waste of space. Keep screaming into the void, nobody cares. Your entire existence is completely embarrassing…Lily Singh was not on a streaming service you dumbass punk…hahahahha
A Little Late with Lilly Singh was on NBC linear TV, and got cancelled. Shall we blame President Trump or the ellisons for her cancellation by NBC? hahahahahah You are nothing but a bitter punchline
People care…..look at the comments by that dumbass Zero about Colbert….lol…Shut your fucking mouth and take the loss….and cry about your biterness
Yes, I miss my Stephen Colbert! But, I also love Jimmy Kimmel, very much, and enjoy Jimmy Fallon, depending on his guests. I absolutely love Seth Meyers. He is makes me relax and smile, a lot! They all have their different styles and positive energy and help me unwind after a long, sometimes intense day dealing with trumpenstein and his not so “intelligent ” staff & enablers, including ICE 😈!!!!
Know why? Bc the replacement show for LN s♤€ks.