IDOL DOWN A BIT; KIMMEL UP A LOT

With 15.3 million viewers tuning in, Thursday’s edition of American Idol was down a tad from last week’s 8:00 p.m. (first) hour. Glee, which followed on Fox, drew some of its best numbers of the season, coming in second among the 18-49 age group and third among total viewers (6.9 million). The two shows aired […]

KIMMEL LOSES GROUND ON SECOND NIGHT AT 11:35 P.M.

Well, it didn’t last long. Jimmy Kimmel’s debut show at 11:35 p.m. on Tuesday may have posted some terrific ratings, but they quickly eroded the following night. On Wednesday, Kimmel attracted 2.86 million viewers versus 3.04 million for David Letterman and 3.55 million for Jay Leno. In the key 18-49 age group, he remained slightly […]

RATINGS FOR KIMMEL’S DEBUT DON’T BODE WELL

The final numbers are in for the first night of Jimmy Kimmel’s new slot on ABC, and they are not propitious. Although early ratings from major markets had indicated that Kimmel had beaten both Jay Leno and David Letterman on Tuesday night, final figures released late Wednesday indicated that he beat only one of them […]

KIMMEL SMOKES POT DURING ROLLING STONE INTERVIEW

Entertainers have often granted interviews to Rolling Stone as part of an effort to alter their public image. Such was the case, for example, back in the ’70s when teen idol David Cassidy appeared nude on the cover of the magazine in a photo shot by famed RS photographer Annie Liebovitz. Such may also now […]

KIMMEL AND LENO: THE UNFRIENDLY RIVALRY

Jimmy Kimmel, who mercilessly skewered Jay Leno — even on Leno’s own program — in the wake of the Conan O’Brien/Tonight show fiasco in 2009, seemed to make it clear on Wednesday that his rivalry with Leno will be anything but friendly when he moves into the 11:35 time period on ABC on Jan. 8. […]

LETTERMAN VISITS KIMMEL; LOVE’S IN THE AIR(WAVES)

Jimmy Kimmel drew his biggest Wednesday-night (OK, technically it was Thursday morning, since the show starts at midnight) audience ever this week — thanks to a visit from a rival, David Letterman. Jimmy Kimmel Live, which is airing this week from Brooklyn (it is usually taped in Hollywood), wound up as something of a love […]

THEY DON’T CALL HIM LETTER-MAN FOR NOTHING

That old motto about “neither rain, nor sleet nor dark of night” apparently applies in spades to the No. 1 letter man working in the dark of night. While some late-night talk-show hosts will be sitting out the storm, David Letterman is set to return to his studio in New York tonight (Monday) and tomorrow […]

KIMMEL ON LENO: “F*** HIM!”

The late-night wars may become more heated in January when ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel goes head-to-head against NBC’s Jay Leno at 11:35 p.m. nightly. Interviewed by the New York Times‘s media writer Bill Carter at a public forum in New York Monday night, Kimmel said that the proudest moment of his career came when he appeared […]

LENO RESPONDS TO BUDGET CUTS — IN HIS MONOLOGUE

Jay Leno responded Tuesday to reports that NBC has steeply cut the budget of the Tonight show and that Leno himself had offered to take a cut in pay of as much as 25 percent to prevent further cuts. Nevertheless, some 25 staff members of the show are expected to be pink-slipped. Leno tackled the […]

ABC SELECTS ITS LATE-NIGHT STAR TO HOST EMMYS

The major television networks, which take turns each year presenting the Emmy awards, now appear to be selecting their late-night personalities to host them — giving each one the opportunity for primetime exposure. It’s ABC’s turn this year,an on Monday it said that Jimmy Kimmel, whose midnight talk show continues to improve in the ratings […]

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