Jimmy Kimmel extends deal with Disney’s ABC for at least a year

LOS ANGELES – Walt Disney is bringing Jimmy Kimmel back for at least one more year.

The late-night star, who was

suspended in September over remarks about slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk,

will continue to host Jimmy Kimmel Live! until May 2027 under a new, one-year deal with Disney’s ABC network, four people familiar with the matter said.

Kimmel announced the news to his staff on Dec 8, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the deal is not public. His current contract expires in May 2026. 

Kimmel, 58, and Disney agreed on the extension months ago and delayed announcing their plans out of respect for fellow late-night host Stephen Colbert, according to the people. CBS announced in July that The Late Show With Stephen Colbert would end in May 2026.

Kimmel’s plans changed again amid the controversy that followed his comments about Mr Kirk, which prompted criticism from United States President Donald Trump and led to a brief suspension. 

A former radio personality, Kimmel has been hosting his late-night talk show since 2003.

He and Disney have ties that extend beyond late night. Kimmel has emceed the Oscars, appeared regularly at Disney’s annual presentation to advertisers and is the host of the rebooted Who Wants To Be A Millionaire (1998 to present).

Like all late-night comedy shows, Jimmy Kimmel Live! has been losing viewers. The show employs a couple hundred people and has trimmed costs to offset the decline in advertising sales. 

Kimmel attracted his largest regular late-night audience ever after his suspension was lifted and averaged about 1.9 million viewers a night in the third quarter, according to Nielsen data, placing second among the three major late-night shows. 

In a Sept 15 monologue, Kimmel said Republicans had tried to capitalise on the assassination of Mr Kirk, who died at age 31 on Sept 10. Some viewers said he was blaming conservatives for the shooting death. The outcry led Disney to suspend the programme for a few days.

Some local station owners pre-empted the show, while Mr Brendan Carr, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, called on them to strike back against broadcast networks.

Politicians and comedians expressed concern that Mr Trump was trying to police comedy. The president has been a frequent critic of Kimmel, calling for Disney to cancel the show. 

In his Sept 23 return to the air, Kimmel said “it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man”.

Kimmel has flirted with calling it quits for a few years. Though he has said he does not think late-night TV will exist in its current form for much longer, he did not want to leave at the same time as Colbert, 61, who is in the midst of an extended goodbye tour.

Once a key part of the cultural landscape, late-night shows have struggled to remain relevant as young viewers have embraced online alternatives to live TV and topical humour has proliferated on social media. 

Hosts like Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon generate millions of views online, but those clips do not produce enough money to support a show with hundreds of employees. 

Kimmel started his career in Seattle, later moving to Tampa, Florida; Tucson, Arizona; and, eventually, Los Angeles. He is one of the longest-serving late-night hosts in TV history. He has reduced his workload in recent years, taking the summers off from the show. BLOOMBERG