October 18, 2025

THE FREE MARKET MAY SACK KIMMEL AGAIN:

By continuing to politicize every current event, Kimmel has impressively lost 85% of his post-suspension bounce in just a few weeks among key demographics. With ratings hovering around 1.7 million viewers, his collapse in viewership is now lower than it was pre-suspension.

“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” wasn’t cancelled because of government “crackdowns” on free speech, as some proclaimed, but because consumers stopped valuing Kimmel’s program. His show was incongruous with their viewing habits and the national conversation, and it may face similar and necessary repercussions again.

American politics has long been fused with entertainment, and people are getting tired of it. The abundance of television shows like “South Park,” popular music, and celebrities lampooning or critiquing current events has made politics inescapable. Pew Research Center (PRC) found that almost two-thirds of Americans feel exhausted when thinking about politics. More in Common’s Hidden Tribe report found that most Americans are frustrated by division and tribalism, wanting officials to heal, not inflame, culture wars.

Yet, there’s political incentive among news outlets and commentary shows to feed viewers ideologically driven content. In 2024, Stanford University found that consumers, regardless of their educational or political background, are more likely to engage with media that aligns with their ideology rather than factual reporting.

Viewers may say they want these programs’ priorities to change, but traditional media thrives on the mass confirmation bias they ingrain in consumers.

It’s a vicious cycle that polarized the American populace while leaving elitist and leftist “comedians” untouched – until recently.

In July, Stephen Colbert announced his tenured and politically charged show would leave the airwaves in 2026. CBS explained that production expenses were costing the company tens of millions of dollars annually, and competition from social media and streaming has pulled customer bases away from television. Kimmel and Hollywood dashed these claims, but the evidence counters their disbelief.

Deloitte’s 2025 media consumption survey revealed only 49% of consumers have cable or satellite TV subscriptions – down from 63% three years ago – a mass departure partially driven by a market oversaturated with political content. An observed desire for hosts to separate politics from programming has skyrocketed the demand and consumption for alternative media, which they find more trustworthy. After being infested with grievance and division for years, the media consumer base shifted its preferences, and Colbert’s rating consequently tanked. Nixing Colbert was a business response to a format and an ideology that failed to captivate audiences.

Can we trust Deloitte’s survey? Perhaps they want to clean up the airwaves to atone for all the rivers their toxic chemicals have set on fire:

Posted at 10:14 am by Ed Driscoll