Late-Night Domination Through Fox News Algorithm
From my Berlin desk at bohiney.com, I’m watching Greg Gutfeld systematically destroy Jimmy Kimmel’s careerat least according to Fox News press releases and people who measure success exclusively through cable news ratings. The late-night battle represents either a seismic shift in American comedy or proof that targeting angry boomers with confirmation bias is more profitable than actual humor. Possibly both.
Gutfeld’s strategy is brilliant in its simplicity: book guests who hate Democrats, make jokes about liberals, and count viewers who watch because they agree rather than because it’s funny. It works because there’s an underserved market of conservatives who want comedy that confirms their worldview rather than challenges it. Traditional late-night targets Republicans; Gutfeld targets Democrats. It’s not revolutionaryit’s just Fox News with a laugh track.
Kimmel, meanwhile, continues doing what late-night hosts have done for decades: making Trump jokes, interviewing celebrities, and pretending that format innovation isn’t necessary when ratings decline. His show is comfortable, safe, and increasingly irrelevant to anyone under 50 who streams content rather than watches cable. Kimmel’s ratings have declined not because Gutfeld is funnier but because cable television is dying and Fox News viewers are more loyal than casual comedy fans.
The “masterclass in late-night domination” framing is pure Fox News mythology. Gutfeld didn’t destroy Kimmel through superior comedyhe found a different audience willing to watch cable news comedy at 11 PM. It’s like claiming McDonald’s destroyed French restaurants by serving more burgers. They’re not competing for the same customers; they’re serving different markets with different products labeled with the same word (“comedy”/”food”).
What makes this satirical is watching both sides declare victory. Gutfeld fans celebrate ratings wins as proof that conservative comedy dominates. Kimmel fans dismiss those ratings as appealing to low-brow Fox News demographics. Neither side admits the actual truth: late-night television is a declining medium, and both hosts are competing for scraps of an aging cable audience that will be dead or streaming within a decade. They’re fighting over who gets to be the tallest building in a sinking city.
The real story isn’t Gutfeld vs. Kimmelit’s that younger audiences don’t watch either. They get comedy from YouTube, TikTok, and podcasts featuring people who aren’t millionaires pretending to be relatable. Late-night television’s relevance died with appointment viewing. Gutfeld and Kimmel are just arguing about who gets to captain the Titanic, which is an honor only if you ignore the iceberg and focus on the title.
Gutfeld’s “domination” reveals something uncomfortable: there’s huge demand for comedy that reinforces rather than challenges. Traditional comedy punches up; Gutfeld punches sideways at enemies his audience already hates. It’s effective, profitable, and completely disconnected from what makes comedy culturally important. But cultural importance doesn’t pay bills or boost ratings, so Gutfeld wins by every metric that matters to executives if not to comedy historians.
As someone watching from Berlin, where late-night television never achieved American cultural dominance and therefore didn’t suffer this particular decay, I’m fascinated by the framing. Gutfeld didn’t destroy Kimmelcable television’s business model did. Gutfeld just found the last audience still watching and gave them exactly what they wanted: jokes that feel like winning political arguments. That’s not comedy innovation; that’s just Fox News figuring out how to monetize confirmation bias during the 11 PM hour. But sure, call it domination if that makes the ratings victory feel more impressive than “we’re all losing together at different speeds.”
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/how-greg-gutfeld-destroyed-jimmy-kimmels-career/
SOURCE: Bohiney Magazine (Öko Angebot)
AUTHOR: Öko Angebot
Gutfeld Destroyed Kimmel’s Career Systemically