Jimmy Kimmel's Ratings Hit 23-Year High After Stephen Colbert's CBS Departure

Late-night television just proved it’s far from dead. Jimmy Kimmel’s ratings just hit their highest point in 23 years, averaging 3.15 million viewers in June with a whopping 17% jump from the previous month. The timing couldn’t be more interesting: these stellar numbers arrived almost immediately after Stephen Colbert departed from CBS’s The Late Show, where the network was hemorrhaging $40 million annually. Kimmel isn’t shy about connecting the dots, joking in interviews that he’s grateful to CBS“for their wisdom”in the situation. The viewership surge tells a clear story: audiences who tuned in to watch Colbert are now finding their late-night fix with Kimmel on ABC.

What makes this moment even juicier is that Kimmel extended an invitation to Colbert to guest-host during his summer break. It would’ve been a ratings bonanza, but Colbert politely declined, saying the timing felt premature. Rather than burning bridges, Kimmel responded gracefully, assuring Colbert that the offer stands whenever he’s ready to return. In the meantime, Kimmel’s summer guest-host lineup includes Ike Barinholtz, Anthony Anderson, Rosie O’Donnell, Colman Domingo, and Jelly Roll, keeping the show fresh and entertaining.

Beyond the numbers themselves, Kimmel also used this moment to defend traditional television against the podcast boom. While everyone celebrates podcasts breaking into the top five, Kimmel points out that even those impressive numbers pale in comparison to what late-night television consistently delivers. The key demographic numbers are particularly telling: Kimmel’s 18-49 viewership actually doubled compared to the month before. So where does the late-night landscape go from here? Will Colbert eventually reconsider that guest-hosting slot, or will he pivot to something entirely new?