ABC hopes to bring Jimmy Kimmel back, but temperature needs to be taken down under FCC threats
Demonstrators picket in response to the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show outside of The Walt Disney Studios on September 18 in Burbank
By Elizabeth Wagmeister, CNN
(CNN) — The decision to yank Jimmy Kimmel’s show off the air wasn’t quite as rash as one might think. The issue had been brewing all week throughout the executive ranks at Disney and ABC — ever since Kimmel made comments during his Monday night monologue about Charlie Kirk’s suspected killer and, as he called Trump’s supporters, the “MAGA gang.”
Kimmel’s remarks Monday attracted ire from the critics on the right, which put it on Disney’s radar. On Tuesday’s show, Kimmel doubled down, saying, “Many in MAGA-land are working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Kirk.”
But it wasn’t until Wednesday afternoon, after FCC chair Brendan Carr went onto a conservative podcast and threatened to pull ABC affiliate broadcast licenses, that the matter really escalated. Then Nexstar — the station group which airs “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” in approximately two dozen markets — announced they would not air the show.
Carr publicly stating that Disney was at risk to lose its local broadcast licenses was a “real, serious threat” for all of ABC, a source familiar with the situation told CNN.
“This isn’t just about ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live.’ It’s about all of ABC and all of the shows and all employees,” another source privy to ongoing conversations at the company said.
A veteran television news producer — who is not employed by ABC — told CNN, “There is no more terrifying circumstance for a broadcast entity than the threat of an FCC fine, or worse, that the agency could move to revoke the stations’ broadcast licenses.”
According to one of the individuals familiar with the situation, Kimmel was prepared to deliver his monologue on his show Wednesday night and planned to address the right-wing backlash to his remarks made earlier in the week regarding the politicalization of Kirk’s killing. This individual describes Kimmel’s planned monologue as “very hot,” taking aim at the MAGA base.
It was then that Disney executives had conversations with Kimmel about “taking down the temperature” of his monologue, according to the individual. Nexstar announced its plan to pull Kimmel’s show at the same time.
That’s when Disney CEO Bob Iger and Disney Entertainment Co-chairman Dana Walden made the decision to preempt the show indefinitely — in hopes of protecting Kimmel and the Disney brand from accelerating the controversy.
Walden called Kimmel to have a conversation about how to move forward, one source said. Walden and Kimmel have a longstanding, positive relationship, and Kimmel has always been incredibly well-regarded within ABC, according to numerous sources.
“Everyone deeply values him and wants him to come back,” one source familiar said. “But he has to take down the temperature.”
The source notes that Kimmel has always been free to speak his mind about Trump and has never been censored on his show. But with serious FCC threats, the company had to make a business decision.
Several of the individuals who spoke to CNN said that Disney employees and staff members on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” began to receive death threats following Carr’s remarks on Wednesday, with their emails and phone numbers being doxed and blasted across social media. For Disney, the issue under consideration was bigger than Kimmel: It became a safety issue for employees and the show’s advertisers.
While no decision has been made on how to move forward, the source said Disney is “hopeful” there is path to bring Kimmel’s show back.
His contract is up at the end of his current season, taking him through May 2026. For years, Kimmel — who has also hosted the Oscars for ABC and just won an Emmy for hosting the network’s “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” — has contended with whether to continue his show, most recently debating whether to renew his contract in 2022.
“After two decades at ABC, I am now looking forward to three years of what they call ‘quiet quitting,’” Kimmel joked in a statement at the time his most recent contract extension was announced.
Kimmel has not yet spoken about his show being suspended, and CNN has reached out to Kimmel’s representatives for comment.
ABC did not respond to CNN’s request for comment regarding the future of the show.
The-CNN-Wire
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