ABC says ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ racked up 6.3 million viewers on broadcast in his late

Jimmy Kimmel’s monologue about free speech in America has reached tens of millions of people across ABC, YouTube and social media platforms — and the view counts are still rising. Randy Holmes/Disney/Getty Images

The first new episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” since his suspension averaged 6.3 million viewers via traditional television, more than three times the show’s typical TV viewership, even though the show was blacked out in dozens of markets.

In the key advertiser-friendly demographic of viewers ages 18 to 49, the show scored its “highest regularly scheduled episode in over 10 years,” ABC said Wednesday afternoon.

And on YouTube, Kimmel has been gaining more than a million views per hour. Combining ABC, YouTube and social media platforms, Kimmel’s monologue about free speech in