Viewership for “Jimmy Kimmel Live” is up 19 percent to 1.5 million, and among 18-to-49-year-olds (the demographic ABC cares most about, because advertisers do) it is up 20 percent.That rise is part of a steadily improving picture for ABC’s late-night lineup, one of the more unexpected developments in television over the last six months. The story begins with the ABC News program “Nightline,” all but written off when its long-time anchor, Ted Koppel, departed last year.
Instead, “Nightline” has experienced a ratings resurgence in recent months that has pushed it well past the figures for Mr. Koppel’s last year on the air. In August it reached more than 3.5 million viewers a night, frequently edging past Mr. Letterman’s show on CBS. (Mr. Letterman’s numbers are for an hourlong show, however, and those for “Nightline” are for a half-hour.)
In August “Nightline” viewership was up about 17 percent from a year ago, proving that the appetite for a serious late-night network news program did not vanish with Mr. Koppel.
This has helped Mr. Kimmel, as he acknowledged in a recent interview here. “In its revised state, ‘Nightline’ is a much better lead-in for us than it ever was before,” he said.
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