Kimmel draws mediocre ratings

During its heavily hyped premiere week after Super Bowl Sunday, ABC’s late-night talk show “Jimmy Kimmel Live” averaged 1.75 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research -- a mediocre number for a late-night debut, though ABC was quick to tout how much Kimmel had improved the network’s performance among adults 18-34, particularly men.

“Jimmy Kimmel Live” airs weeknights after “Nightline,” from midnight to 1 a.m., replacing ABC’s half-hour-long “Politically Incorrect With Bill Maher.”

The combination of “Nightline” and the first half of Kimmel’s program trailed NBC by a wide margin in most markets. “The Tonight Show” continued to dominate, averaging 6 million viewers from 11:35 p.m. to 12:35 p.m., while “Late Night With Conan O’Brien” averaged 2.5 million viewers. Kimmel, however, tied or beat the second half-hour of David Letterman’s show and the first half-hour of Craig Kilborn’s show in some markets, including Los Angeles.

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Paul Brownfield