Is late-night television losing its relevance? Do people even want the traditional one-hour variety/talk-show format that has been going on for decades? With Jon Stewart's small cable show (running at a svelte half and hour while packing in, oh, ten times the laughs and social commentary) consistently mopping the big boys in ratings, is there still a place for the network late night line-up? While Jay Leno and David Letterman continue to drop in ratings, quality and relevance, there is still some hope for the format with hosts like Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel.
These two hosts aren't reinventing the wheel, just putting some new-age spin(ners) on it and to great success. Like the 'innovative' idea of creating viral video content to not only broadcast on the show but also share across the web in order to continue to generate buzz and find new audiences. It wasn't long ago that we covered Jimmy Falllon's spot on and hilarious cover of the Reading Rainbow theme song as Jim Morrison and The Doors and it's this kind of content, videos that have life after their broadcast that can maybe help win the audiences away from the small cablers and back to the boys on the big networks.
Well, in that vein, Jimmy Kimmel aired another hilarious video on the show last night before immediately uploading it to his YouTube channel. The concept? As you'll see in the clip, Kimmel issues a 'YouTube Challenge' (like a rigged America's Funniest Home Videos video, because none of those were planned) to get parents to give their children an early Christmas present that was deliberately awful and then tape the whole thing for our enjoyment. And enjoy it I did! This isn't the first such video either, watch the "Terrible Presents" video below and then check out the one called "I Told My Kids I Ate Their Halloween Candy". Amazingly cruel... and hilarious.
Jimmy Kimmel Live airs every night at 12 a.m. ET on ABC.
