Let's do some math!

Kimmel had 122K viewers in the 19-49 demographic spread through approximately 250 ABC stations.

Some people do not seem to realize that Disney and ABC do not have full control of what is broadcast at a local level. While local affiliates are required to air a certain percentage of what the broadcast network is serving up, they are allowed to change various programs. So when affiliates decided to stop broadcasting Kimmel, neither Disney nor ABC can force them to do anything differently. If these affiliates want to run reruns of the Family Feud or show a tribute to Charlie Kirk during Kimmel's time slot, they are free to do so.

Now if you look at the numbers, the average affiliate is getting under 500 viewers in that coveted 19-49 demographic for the Kimmel show. 122,000/250 = 488. That is dismal. If you consider that his particular type of sophomoric political fart humor is only really going to appeal to the elitist left, you start to realize that many of these affiliates are likely seeing way less than that. Here in Seattle, it is likely that the local ABC affiliate sees several thousand 19-49 for this time slot. Same is true in most every urban coastal affiliate out there. But on the flip side, an affiliate in Idaho, Arkansas, or conservative parts of otherwise blue or purples states are not seeing much of anyone in that money making demographic tuning in and possibly not many more overall.

Also keep in mind that each affiliate sells local advertising for a selected few commercial breaks that are not national in nature. Once or twice an hour, you will see plugs for things like the local news as well as advertising for local businesses. How many businesses in deep red Kansas will want to advertise during Jimmy Kimmel? You want a funny joke, go to the local hardware store in MAGA country and ask Bob the owner if he wants to associate his business with Jimmy Kimmel. You will see the actually rolling on the ground laughing my ass off meme type of reaction. What you get instead is the free advertising promotions and the local plugs because nobody will pay for these slots. This is what really starts to irritate the affiliates. They are not boycotting Kimmel because of politics; they are sick of losing money to air an arrogant prick who makes 15 million dollars a year to be little more than an arrogant prick who brazenly insults their affiliate audience night after night.

There is no way this can be successful business strategy. How can you make money paying someone 15 million a year so he can turn off the vast majority of the audience over the larger portions of the country. Now that these affiliates have pushed back, there is little reason for them to keep bending the knee to the network and losing money themselves.

The question now becomes a matter of ego and pride. Either Kimmel would have to publicly apologize on his show and donate a substantial amount of money to Turning Point, or the affiliates would have to back down and go back to losing money on Kimmel without any demands being met. At the end of the day, there is a pretty good shot that Kimmel will see his show end up exactly how the Colbert show ended up. Cancelled. Then he can perform his free speech on his own time and own forum. Maybe he can perform to his 40 million bots that are following his YouTube channel.