Overview
- Kimmel said ABC has not started talks about a post-2027 renewal and his current contract runs through May 2027.
- He told reporters ABC has told him Jimmy Kimmel Live! remains profitable when linear and online audiences are counted and he challenged CBS’s claim that Stephen Colbert’s Late Show lost about $40 million a year.
- Kimmel used his recent Peabody Award acceptance to defend the right to satirize political leaders while acknowledging the genre feels under pressure.
- The host cited repeated attacks from President Trump and a public threat from FCC chair Brendan Carr, noting that ABC briefly pulled his show last September before returning it within a week.
- The cancellation of Colbert’s show and the shift to one-year renewals has left Kimmel publicly weighing how to exit responsibly for his staff and what the shrinking pool of late-night hosts means for television and online audiences.