Philip Bump makes a good point, here. Just who are the people who saw Kimmel’s comments anyway?
The debate over the shelving of Jimmy Kimmel’s show isn’t really a debate, as such.
Kimmel has been a target of Donald Trump’s for years, with the president predicting in July that the ABC host’s show would be next to be shut down after CBS cancelled Stephen Colbert. […]
Trump got his desired outcome. And Trump desired that outcome because he pays far more attention to television personalities and ratings than nearly anyone else in America.
Analysis from the Hollywood Reporter published last year found that ABC had a median primetime viewership age a bit lower than CBS in 2024 — 65.6 years versus 67.8. The youngest audience that tuned into ABC’s primetime lineup was for “NBA Primetime,” which enjoyed a youthful median age of 57.1 years.
Trump seeks a ban all criticism of him across the board. He’s suing newspapers and media companies and getting at least some of them to capitulate (looking at you Jeff Bezos.) But it’s been notable that it’s the broadcast TV networks that have really come crawling on their bellies, begging for forgiveness.
But the fact is that broadcast TV is dying anyway and, as you can see, (with the exception of sports) is really only watched by old people — like Trump.
Obviously, the moves by Carr are violations of the First Amendment and must be opposed at all costs. But the fact is that these people are just hastening the demise of broadcast TV. And at this point I have to say — good riddance. They are all owned by corrupt corporations willing to lay down for an authoritarian monster.