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Jimmy Kimmel’s return after a near weeklong suspensionhas led to the show’s top viewership in ten years.

ABC, which is owned by Disney, confirmed the increase in ratings, stating that almost 6.3 million people watched the broadcast – a number that excludes viewers from online streaming platforms.

Usually, Jimmy Kimmel Live! attracts approximately 1.4 to 1.8 million viewers every night on TV.

As is frequently the case with late-night hosts’ monologues, there was a bigger online audience, with over 15 million viewers watching Kimmel’s opening remarks on YouTube by Wednesday night. ABC reports that over 26 million people watched Kimmel’s return on social media, includingYouTube.

These record-breaking figures occur even with power outages in numerous cities including Washington, Seattle, Nashville, and St. Louis. Approximately a quarter of ABC stations are not broadcasting the show, as Nexstar and Sinclair companies continue to decline to have Kimmel return.

A representative from Nexstar stated yesterday that Kimmel’s program will remain unavailable on its stations as the company reviews his show.

“We are having meaningful conversations with executives at the (ABC parent) Walt Disney Co., with an emphasis on making sure the program represents and honors the varied interests of the communities we support,” said Nexstar.

And the president they support, as Kimmel’s suspension hassparked discussions about freedom of expression in the United Statesand demonstrated quite how far Trump isattempting to redefine media according to his preferences– ie: without any form of critique.

This has drawn the interest of U.S. senators, who stated they wish to examine the connectionamong the affiliates and Trump’s administration.

“If Nexstar or Sinclair exchanged the suppression of a government critic for official actions by the Trump administration, your companies are not only involved in a concerning violation of free speech but also face the possibility of violating anti-corruption laws,” Senators Elizabeth Warren, Ed Markey, Ron Wyden, and Chris Van Hollen stated in their letter to the companies.

Yesterday, a different group of senators, including California Democrat Adam Schiff, expressed their desire to question FCC Chairman Brendan Carr regarding “implicit threats” directed at Disney concerning Kimmel.

During Kimmel’s return show, the host stated that “it was never my intention to mock the killing of a young man.” He also criticized Carr for using “mob-like methods” and made fun of Carr along with the FCC ina comedy routine with Robert De Niro.  

Kimmel also faced criticism from Trump, who had questioned Kimmel’s return, stating, “Our leader applauds people losing their jobs because he can’t handle a joke,” later emphasizing that Trump’s behavior was “un-American.”

For the time being, it appears that Trump’s strategy of leveraging the federal government’s machinery to influence companies and alter media and public discourse has dramatically failed. Until his next attempt at pressure, that is, as he hasopenly calledfor Kimmel’s late-night colleagues Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers to also be removed from television.