Heavy focus on politics pays off for Colbert, Kimmel

[highplainsdem]

Source: The Hill

Stephen Colbert continues to win the late-night ratings race for CBS, with ABC's Jimmy Kimmel making strong gains among younger viewers and the formerly dominant Jimmy Fallon of NBC losing viewers.

"Jimmy Kimmel Live" is the only program showing year-over-year gains in total viewers and in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic that advertisers covet most, according to Nielsen Media Research. Overall, the former "Man Show" host is up by 9 percent in total viewers and 4 percent in the younger demographic.

Both Colbert and Fallon lost viewers when compared to the same time last year in the key demographic. Colbert has gained in total viewers overall, however.

A key component in Kimmel's rise appears to be his 11:35 p.m. program's focus on big political topics and debate of the day, particularly on health care and gun control.

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Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/media/354963-heavy-focus-on-politics-pays-off-for-colbert-kimmel

[vkkv]

1. love it !!

[Skittles]

2. thanking them both

[Gothmog]

3. This is great news for Kimmel and Colbert

[Stuart G]

4. I never knew anything about Jimmy Kimmel until DU introduced me to him

to DU for introducing Kimmel to many of us here.

[Initech]

6. I've been listening to KROQ since Jimmy Kimmel was on it.

They did some crazy shit back in the day!

[YOHABLO]

5. Late Night talk has become the 'Truth to Power' in the U.S.

John Oliver just won an Emmy for it !

[Initech]

7. Yup!

The GOP has done everything they can to silence the opposition short of revoking the first amendment, we need all the help we can get!

[Gothmog]

8. Jimmy Kimmel says he is willing to lose Republican viewers, but his ratings are going up

This makes me smile https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/10/18/jimmy-kimmel-says-he-is-willing-to-lose-republican-viewers-but-his-ratings-are-going-up/?utm_term=.1866c6f62651

Jimmy Kimmel says he believes so strongly in his recent commentaries on health care and gun control that he is willing to lose Republican viewers who disagree with him.

So far, however, the late-night host's foray into divisive political issues has not hurt his ratings. If anything, it has helped.

On three consecutive nights in September, Kimmel used his opening monologue to rip a GOP health-care bill that did not guarantee insurance coverage for preexisting conditions. The following Monday, Kimmel scored a rare ratings win over rivals Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Fallon in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic coveted by advertisers.

As Variety's senior TV reporter, Daniel Holloway, wrote at the time, “buzz around the ABC host spiked in the past week.”

The first week of October, when Kimmel called for new gun-control measures after the mass shooting in Las Vegas, was his most-watched since June, when his show benefited from having the NBA Finals as a lead-in. Excluding that basketball-aided period, the first week of this month was Kimmel's best since January.