Gayle King was left speechless on “CBS Mornings” on Thursday after co-host Tony Dokoupil warned that Jimmy Kimmel’s viral comeback is “bad” business if it alienates “half the country,” as the ABC host’s return drew blockbuster ratings despite blackouts at major affiliates.
King teed up the numbers Friday, noting Kimmel’s first show back pulled more than 6 million broadcast viewers and roughly 26 million social views.
“Which kind of makes the numbers even more extraordinary — a big chunk of the country couldn’t get it,” she said.
Dokoupil cut in, noting that “the 26 million on social media, most of that money doesn’t go to ABC.”
“And the business is still bad, particularly if you’re offending half the country, the ones that voted for the guy he doesn’t like. So, here we are. Good luck, late night!”
The on-air exchange followed Disney’s decision to bring “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” back on Tuesday, six days after a suspension over the comedian’s remarks about the suspect in conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s killing.
Dokoupil has not been shy about weighing in on newsworthy events surrounding late night hosts.
Earlier this year, he defended his bosses at CBS after executives announced that the network would be discontinuing production of Stephen Colbert’s show.
Colbert, a frequent critic of President Trump, slammed parent company Paramount for announcing the cancellation of his show just a week after it agreed to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit brought by Trump against “60 Minutes.”
Dokoupil said Colbert’s show had become much more “one-sided” than classic late-night programs like Johnny Carson’s, and attributed the show’s cancellation partly to that shift in political tone — not just financial factors.
Last year, Dokoupil was reprimanded by CBS News management over a contentious interview that he conducted with Ta-Nehisi Coates, who wrote a book critical of Israel.
Shari Redstone, who at the time was controlling shareholder of CBS parent company Paramount, backed Dokoupil.
Redstone sold Paramount to Skydance Media, which is run by David Ellison. One of Ellison’s plans is reportedly to give Bari Weiss, an avowedly pro-Israel journalist, a senior editorial role at CBS News.
Kimmel’s return delivered 6.3 million viewers — more than triple his recent average — and nearly 26 million views across social platforms, according to ratings tallies highlighted Friday.
Despite the surge, large chunks of the country could not watch live.
Nexstar said this week its ABC stations will continue to preempt Kimmel’s show. Sinclair said it would replace “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” with news programming across its ABC affiliates.
On “CBS Mornings,” King reminded viewers the show remained “blacked out in 23% of the US households” due to the affiliates’ stance.
Kimmel’s off-air stretch began after Disney and ABC pulled the show last week in response to his commentary about Kirk and the suspect in that case. The hiatus lasted nearly a week before Disney announced his return.
When Kimmel came back, he told viewers “it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man,” and opened with a montage of news clips about the suspension.
Kimmel also leaned into the controversy on air, joking that his show would keep moving — including an upcoming run from Brooklyn — so the FCC “can’t get us,” and thanked his chief antagonist for helping his ratings.
He cited more than 21.5 million YouTube views and upward of 26 million across platforms on his comeback monologue.
Trump has repeatedly weighed in during the flap.
He cheered the suspension, pressured networks over late-night hosts and renewed his attacks after Kimmel returned with a monologue that mocked the president’s social posts.
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