(The Hill) -- Comedian Jimmy Kimmel's return to late night on Tuesday earned him his largest television audience in more than a decade, ABC announced on Wednesday.

"Jimmy Kimmel Live," this week netted more than 6 million viewers on linear broadcast, according to Nielsen Media Research data, despite the show being preempted in what the network said was more than 20 percent of households nationwide.

Those figures do not include the more than 20 million views his opening monologue racked up on YouTube or clips of his show that went viral on social media.

Kimmel's Tuesday show was widely anticipated following his suspension by Disney, ABC's parent company, over comments he made last week accusing conservatives of trying to score "political points" off the killing of activist Charlie Kirk a

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