“Jimmy Kimmel Live” is moving into the thick of the late-night fight against Jay Leno and David Letterman, ABC said Tuesday, bumping “Nightline” from its longtime perch.

Starting in January, Kimmel’s talk show will shift from 12:05 a.m. Eastern to the 11:35 p.m. Eastern time slot long held by the news magazine, the network said.

“The most exciting thing is having a bigger audience,” Kimmel said. “You work all day on the show and you want as many people to see you as possible.”

“Nightline” will swap places with Kimmel’s show, airing at 12:35 a.m. Eastern, and will get a weekly prime-time hour starting in March, ABC said.

Kimmel’s show will move to 11:35 p.m. Eastern on Jan. 8, with “Nightline” starting an hour later and debuting in prime time on March 1.

“Given the passionate fan base ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ has built over the past decade, and the show’s ratings and creative momentum this season, the time is right to make this move,” Anne Sweeney, co-chair of Disney Media Networks and president of Disney/ABC Television Group, said in a statement.

“Nightline” has been a strong performer in its 11:35 p.m. slot, averaging 3.9 million viewers to best both NBC’s “Tonight Show” with Leno and CBS’ “Late Show” with Letterman.

But there is more advertiser demand for entertainment programming at that hour, Sweeney said, creating the opportunity for “far greater upside over the long term.”

Grammy concert heads to Nashville

This year’s Grammy Awards nominations will come with a Southern accent.

The Recording Academy is moving its annual live nominations concert special to Nashville, Tenn. The special will air live Dec. 5 on CBS.

This is the fifth time the Recording Academy has held “The Grammy Nominations Concert Live,” but the first outside Los Angeles.

Recording Academy President/CEO Neil Portnow says it made sense to look at Nashville for a number of reasons, including the city’s prominence in the world music scene.

The awards will be Feb. 10 in Los Angeles.

CMA nods to be unveiled in NYC

The Country Music Association Awards will be bringing a little twang to the big city when nominations are announced next month.

Jason Aldean and Lady Antebellum plan to reveal nominees in five categories on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Sept. 5. They’ll finish off the list later that morning at Hard Rock Cafe in New York’s Times Square.

It’s the first time the nominations have been announced entirely in New York since 2005.

The awards will be Nov. 1 in Nashville.