Jimmy Kimmel's return to TV has gone viral despite some ABC affiliates choosing not to air his late-night show. Kerry Flynn, a media reporter for Axios, joins "CBS News Mornings" with more.

Jimmy Kimmel's first night back on late-night television after a suspension drew 6.2 million viewers, according to Nielsen ratings. Despite 25% of ABC stations not airing the show due to ongoing disputes with broadcast companies Nextar and Sinclair, Kimmel's monologue found a large audience online, amassing over 19 million views on YouTube.

The broadcast dispute remains unresolved, with Nextar and Sinclair stating that discussions with Disney are ongoing. Meanwhile, former President Trump has threatened legal action against ABC, though experts suggest he is unlikely to have strong grounds for a lawsuit. Kimmel's return has generated notable support from viewers and public figures, contributing to the show's continued momentum.

Jimmy Kimmel's late-night TV return draws massive ratings

All right, 6.2 million. According to Nielsen, that's the number of viewers Jimmy Kimmel pulled in during his first night back from suspension. Keri Flynn is a media reporter for Axios, and she's back with us this morning to react to that and his second night. Keri, welcome back, good morning. As we talked at about this time yesterday, Kimmel did bring in massive ratings with his return, but the monologue, which you pointed to that they posted on YouTube, now has more than 19 million views. Why is that also a significant piece of this story? 19 million and counting. It's significant because as we spoke about, still 25% of ABC stations are not airing the Jimmy Kimmel show still. And so people are able to access that through YouTube, right, and so that's where it's not surprising we're seeing that massive growth. And also, I was just looking at and seeing if this is his most popular monologue yet on YouTube, seems to be so. He has had viral ones for sure on YouTube, but nearly 20 million views, that's massive. And having looked, I'm sure he's posted on Instagram and TikTok, which you were just talking about. So that reach is really impressive. And despite that, though, the broadcast companies Nextar and Sinclair, they own a large portion of ABC's local stations, they're still preempting the show. And there's what seems to be growing backlash to that. How are those companies responding? Correct, and Jimmy himself in his monologue, I think multiple times last night, pointed out for, sorry to everyone who still can't watch us, but in terms of these conversations now, Nextar and Sinclair, again, are still not airing it. Nextar put out a statement yesterday saying they are in productive discussions with Disney, but we don't know what they want out of Disney and ABC to decide to air. Disney is not commenting on the matter so far. The understanding though is eventually Nextar and Sinclair will have to give in. For the people that I've spoken to have said that there likely is something in the contract with between the two parties that says they can only keep this up for so long. And we know that there's also pressure from President Trump. He's threatening to sue ABC over all of this. He referred to it as a kind of test after receiving a previous settlement from the network and Disney. Does the president really have a leg to stand on here to sue a network over its own decisions? The big question is what he is exactly suing for. Is it defamation? Is it discrimination? There are all these things. There's been a lot of defamation suits, but then he'd have to prove that he's faced damages over what Kimmel has said. And if you watch his monologue last night, Jimmy just calls him a big bully, right? And you can't really just sue for both sides bullying each other. And the question too, he in Trump's true social post, he alleged that Jimmy is an arm of the DMC. So, okay, is he going to sue over like some campaign finance issue? ABC is a media company. Jimmy is well in his right to speak about politics, to speak about the president, to speak about political campaigns. Again, it's a news program, it's entertainment. He is well in his right to do so. So what is Trump suing for? Does he have grounds? Likely, likely not. Yeah, and the freedom of speech, a cornerstone of American society and life since its founding. And so looking at what happens next, what are you curious to see? What are you watching out for? I'm definitely curious what will happen with the Nextdoor and Sinclair deals as well, how long that will keep up. And I'm also curious to watch the continued momentum around Jimmy Kimmel's show. Me personally, I just watched Jimmy Kimmel live two nights in a row. I don't know the last time I did that. It's a new program. I wake up early. So I'm really curious to see that. And Ethan Hawke, the actor, was on his program last night and said, he told him that we're all really proud of you. So it really seems like so many people have come up in support of Jimmy Kimmel and are watching him live, supporting him. So I'm really curious to continue to watch that momentum as well. Carrie watches it, so we don't have to since it's after our bedtime. Carrie Flynn, great to see you again. Be well, see you again soon. Thanks for having me, bye.

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