ABC CUTS NITELINE TO 25 MINUTES, KIMMEL WILL START AT MIDNIGHT FEB. 4

[gregg75]

Jimmy Kimmel's two year contract with ABC asked that his show start at midnight instead of
12:05 AM. ABC News president Ben Sherwood has decided to shorten Niteline to 25 minutes.
Niteline has enjoyed great ratings recently and that's what makes the decision so puzzling.

However the late start probably did have an effect of Kimmel's ratings. The change starts
Feb. 4.

 

[imhomerjay]

Puzzling? It's a minor adjustment, not a cancellation, designed to try and benefit the whole lineup.

 

[searadiofreak]

Not puzzling. Does anyone really think a 5 minute shorter Nightline will make any difference? Not a major change. However, it puts Jimmy in a slightly better position, top of the hour.

 

[Mediafrog+]

An AP story I read said that ABC will reduce the commercial load within the 25 minute Nightline, so it will have almost the same amount of content as the 30 minute version.

 

[DToTheJ]

...it puts Jimmy in a slightly better position, top of the hour.

There's only one other major late night host whose show starts at the top of the hour: Conan O'Brien on TBS - who, ironically, did the :05/:35 start time thing before the late night shows went there.

I can't help but wonder if ABC created the new "midnight sharp" start time for Kimmel in a furtive attempt to lure Conan viewers unimpressed with Lopez.

 

[musicman3355]

Technically, he always started at 12:08 AM...

 

[dave73]

I wonder if in September WLS-TV will air Jimmy Kimmel at 11pm CT, instead of at 12:05am CT like they do now. They pre-empt Jimmy Kimmel so they can reair Oprah Winfrey at 11:05pm CT. For an ABC O&O station, I'm surprised corporate allows this.