Contra Costa Times
WALNUT CREEK, California 鈥� In a long-overdue move, ABC begins tonight with its shift of Jimmy Kimmel Live from midnight to 11:35 p.m., where the show鈥檚 host will go head-to-head with late-night titans David Letterman and Jay Leno. It鈥檚 a strategy that comes laced with a delicious bit of irony.
In 2002, ABC made an all-out bid to lure Letterman away from CBS, offering him the time period occupied by the news program Nightline. Shortly after Letterman turned down the offer, ABC introduced Kimmel in the post-Nightline hour to relatively little fanfare.
Six years later, ABC aggressively wooed Leno, who was about to be replaced at NBC by Conan O鈥橞rien 鈥� again offering the Nightline slot. But Leno instead tried an ill-fated prime-time show, before reclaiming The Tonight Show desk.
Now, ABC is suddenly counting on Kimmel to deliver a ratings blow to both Leno and Letterman. Starting tonight, Nightline will air an hour later, allowing Kimmel to finally meet the late-night heavy-hitters on their own turf and eliminate the head start they鈥檝e long enjoyed.
It doesn鈥檛 sound like much: Only a measly 25 minutes. But for Kimmel, the new start time is significant.
鈥淭he big deal is that, for some reason, people go to sleep at midnight. You lose a lot of people at that time,鈥� he told media members during a recent conference call. 鈥淪o the audience is much bigger. There are a lot more people up watching television at 11:35 than there are at midnight. It鈥檚 as simple as that.鈥�
But it also means a great deal personally for Kimmel, who once spoke of being able to host a 鈥渞eal鈥� talk show in the earlier slot, versus a 鈥渢alk-show fantasy camp.鈥�
鈥淢aybe this is something that we in the industry are more interested in than the general public,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut there鈥檚 mythology and traditions surrounding that 11:35 time slot that started with Johnny Carson and then became a big deal when Leno went up against Letterman.鈥�
Don鈥檛 expect to see major changes because of the earlier start. The perception that the show needs to 鈥渂roaden鈥� or become 鈥渕ore wholesome鈥� is a 鈥渓ittle bit out of date,鈥� said Kimmel, who will welcome Jennifer Aniston and the rock band No Doubt as his guests tonight.
Still, the move isn鈥檛 without some risk for ABC. Nightline, after all, actually has been beating Leno and Letterman in the ratings and will most certainly lose some steam when it airs an hour later. Meanwhile, the audience for Jimmy Kimmel Live (about 1.8 million viewers) is substantially smaller than that of Nightline (3.8聽million).
Then again, it does makes financial sense. Advertisers generally pay more for an entertainment show 鈥� and for younger viewers in the highly coveted 18-to-49 demographic. At 44, Kimmel is younger 鈥� and edgier 鈥� than Leno and Letterman, both of whom are in their 60s. And it鈥檚 no coincidence that the time shift comes at a time when Kimmel鈥檚 audience is steadily growing while his rivals鈥� ratings are slipping.
Kimmel, in fact, has seen his star steadily rise over the past few years. There was that well-received hosting gig at the White House Correspondents鈥� Dinner. This past fall, he hosted the Emmy Awards for the first time and earned his first Emmy nomination for best variety show. In addition, his hilarious viral videos have gained widespread attention.
He may not be the most-watched late-night funny guy, but he鈥檚 certainly the hottest.
Nevertheless, Kimmel admits it will be a 鈥渓ittle strange鈥� taking on Letterman, who long has been his television idol. On the other hand, if 鈥淣olan Ryan is pitching to you, you still have to try to hit the ball 鈥� no matter how many baseball cards you have [of him] in your bedroom, or posters on the wall,鈥� he said.
Kimmel doesn鈥檛 hold Leno in such high esteem, having publicly slammed The Tonight Show host over the years. But he鈥檚 not about to dismiss him as a viable rival.
鈥淣ever count Jay out,鈥� he said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 like Jason in Friday the 13th. He seems to pop up just when you think he鈥檚 dead. He comes back to life, and he鈥檚 got a hatchet.鈥�
Even so, Leno can鈥檛 go on forever, which brings up another benefit of ABC鈥檚 move: It allows Kimmel to be at the forefront of a new generation of 11:35 hosts 鈥� getting a jump on Jimmy Fallon, who appears to be the heir apparent at NBC, and whoever is chosen to replace Letterman at CBS.
As for his own future, Kimmel, who recently signed a two-year contract extension, insists that he鈥檚 not a 鈥渓ifer.鈥� 鈥淚鈥檓 not going to be one of those guys that they have to drag off the stage,鈥� he said.
11:35 p.m. ABC
