ABC has confirmed it will move Jimmy Kimmel Live! earlier by one half-hour, to 11:35, starting Jan. 8.
That will put it in direct competition with NBC’s Tonight Show and CBS’ Late Show with David Letterman for a three-way ratings cage match.
So what does this mean for Nightline? It is well known to even to the casual TV viewer the storied late-night news program has survived attempts to kill it over the past few year. Now the TV news mag will start at 12:35 a.m.; plus, starting March 1, get a new prime time Friday slot.
“Given the passionate fan base ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live! has built over the past decade, and the show’s ratings and creative momentum this season, the time is right to make this move,” Anne Sweeney, cochair of Disney Media Neworks and president of the Disney/ABC Television Group, wrote in a statement.
The timing of the move may seem odd, given that Kimmel’s hosting of the Emmy Awards next month would have given ABC a natural promotional platform for the switch.
ABC will use Ryan Seacrest’s New Years program as well as Dancing With the Stars and the Bowl Championship Series on sister network ESPN to tell viewers about the switch.
