While he was graced with the A-list celebrity as his first guest ( George Clooney), as well as a player from the winning team (Bucaneers' defensive tackler Warren Sapp), the show that Kimmel and his team put forth on that first night hardly made the case for its continued existence. Smarting for Letterman's rebuffing, the network next looked to a rising star out of the Comedy Central ranks. And while he admittedly entertained the idea, he ultimately passed, citing a deep respect for Nightline host Ted Koppel and a reluctance to bump the newsman's show into obscurity. David Letterman.ĪBC offered the late-night giant, whose contract was nearing expiration at CBS, Nightline's timeslot and, presumably, a truckload of cash. Hungry to get into the game, the network made an all-court press for.
The network was using Nightline as a bit of counter-programming against the NBC and CBS stalwarts, and was looking for a replacement for Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher after that show's total ratings collapse thanks to some choice comments from its always-controversial host following the horrific events of 9/11.
In fact, it's last stab at the format was way back in the 1980s with an ill-fated revival of The Dick Cavett Show. When ABC launched Jimmy Kimmel Live after the Super Bowl on January 26, 2003, it had been out of the traditional late-night talk show business for quite some time.
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