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Jimmy Kimmel and Disney’s ABC have entered into negotiations about keeping the host in late-night after the new TV season, a process that might ordinarily be the most normal of business practices, but in the current
climate is exceedingly fraught.
Kimmel and executives at the Disney network are having talks about whether he might continue to host “Jimmy Kimmel Live” after the 2026-2027 season, according to a person familiar with the matter. Disney declined to make executives available for comment, and a representative for Kimmel declined to comment as well. James Dixon, the agent who represents Kimmel as well as other late-night notables including Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, could not be reached for immediate comment.
Kimmel in 2025 movedfrom a more typical three-year contact to a one-year deal, a sign of not only his long tenure in the role but also the foundering economics of late-night TV, which has ceded not only many of the younger viewers that once flocked to the daypart, but a significant percentage of the ad dollars that followed them. At the same time, shows like “Jimmy Kimmel Live” continue to be part of popular culture, and Kimmel has played a key figure as many of the programs waded more directly into political humor and anti-Trump stances.
A single-year contract would give both host and broadcaster more flexibility to change plans if the business of wee-hours TV grew more challenged.
Puck previously reported that Kimmel and the Disney TV network had entered into renewal talks.
The talks are likely to touch upon some difficult realities. Spending on late night television shows hit $209 million in 2025, according to data from Guideline, a tracker of ad expenditures, down from $519.7 million in 2017. Ad spending on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” totaled $51.1 million in 2024, accounting for 21% of all late night spend, according to the firm — a percentage that is well behind that for NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and CBS’ now defunct “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
And yet, Kimmel’s program has gotten a ratings boost since CBS removed Colbert’s show from its schedule in May. That means “Jimmy Kimmel Live” can likely charge more money for the new group it reaches. At the same time, Kimmel’s monologues that rail against President Trump, and decisions to poke the bear by putting Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico of Texas on a YouTube stream put his show under increased scrutiny from the White House and the Federal Communications Commission.
Disney is at present enmeshed in legal wrangling with the FCC, alleging that the regulator had encroached on ABC’s First Amendment rights by moving to punish it for its news coverage and programming decisions. The FCC ordered Disney to file for renewals for ABC’s eight owned-and-operated stations years ahead of schedule. In filings, Disney has said its applications were made “under protest in response to an unlawful, arbitrary, and unconstitutional order.” “The View,” which has thrived in recent years with discussion of politics, has also found itself in the administration’s cross-hairs.
More to come…
