Updates viewership numbers, adds details from Tuesday's broadcast and context

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, Sept 24 (Reuters) - The monologue Jimmy Kimmel delivered on his return to late-night television had been seen 17 million times on Google's YouTube and Meta's META.O Instagram by early Wednesday afternoon.

By 1 p.m. EDT, Kimmel's Tuesday night monologue had 11.8 million views on YouTube and 5.2 million on Instagram. Broadcast ratings for Tuesday's show were not yet available. ABC affiliates in several major markets did not carry the show, which aired hours after network parent Walt Disney DIS.N lifted his suspension.

Kimmel returned to the air six days after his remarks about the accused killer of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk provoked social media outrage and pressure from President Donald Trump's administration. The company's decision to cut short Kimmel's exile marked a high-profile act of corporate defiance in the face of Trump's escalating crackdown on perceived enemies in the media through litigation and regulatory threats.

Disney was also under pressure from Kimmel's fans, some of whom were canceling subscriptions to the company's streaming services Disney+ and Hulu. Kimmel alluded to that in his monologue, joking that the company had asked him to read some remarks on the air.

"To reactivate your Disney+ and Hulu account, open the Disney+ app on your smart TV or TV-connected device," he read.

Kimmel defended political satire against "bullying" from Trump and officials in his administration. Kimmel's voice choked with emotion, moments after he took the stage to a standing ovation, and he said: "It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man. I don't think there's anything funny about it."

Last week Kimmel said Trump's supporters were eager to characterize Kirk's assassin "as anything other than one of them" and accused them of trying to "score political points" from Kirk's killing.

Before Tuesday's broadcast, Trump said on his Truth Social online platform that he "can't believe" ABC gave Kimmel back his show, and hinted at further action against the network.

Trump's post called Kimmel "yet another arm" of the Democratic National Committee and characterized the comedian's jokes about the Republican administration as "a major illegal Campaign Contribution. I think we're going to test ABC out on this." Previously, Trump had said Kimmel was fired for "bad ratings."

The late-night format has been struggling for years, as more viewers have abandoned cable television and migrated to streaming. Younger viewers, in particular, are more apt to find amusement on YouTube or TikTok, leaving smaller audiences and declining ad revenues for traditional TV.

NEXSTAR OPTS OUT OF KIMMEL

Nexstar Media Group NXST.O and Sinclair SBGI.O both opted on Tuesday to keep "Jimmy Kimmel Live" off their combined 70 owned and operated ABC stations, which account for about 23% of U.S. households. That meant the show was not seen over the air in places like Seattle; Salt Lake City, Utah; Nashville and New Orleans, among other markets. It also did not air in Washington, D.C.

Still, Disney offers Kimmel's show for viewing on a number of streaming apps, which are accessible all over the country.

Following Kimmel's remarks last week, U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr threatened an investigation of ABC and its affiliates. He urged television stations to drop Kimmel's show or face possible fines and revocation of their broadcast licenses.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way," Carr said on September 17, which brought calls for his resignation from Democrats and sharp criticism from Republicans including Senator Ted Cruz.

In his monologue, Kimmel thanked Cruz and other conservatives who did not support his views but supported his right to express them.

"I don't think I've ever said this before, but Ted Cruz is right," Kimmel said to a chorus of laughter.

(Reporting by David Shepardson and Sayantani Ghosh; Editing by Mark Porter and David Gregorio)

((David.Shepardson@thomsonreuters.com; 2028988324;))