Skip to content
Bramble

Entertainment

Kimmel has not signed new Disney deal; Walden says talks continue before May 2027 expiry

Disney's Dana Walden said the company is still working through a new deal for Jimmy Kimmel, weighing late-night economics against its partnership with him. His contract expires in May 2027.

3 outlets · 2L · 1C · 0R First reported Account updated
Image: Deadline
Image: Variety
Image: The Hollywood Reporter

1 / 3

The story, neutrally told

Disney president and chief creative officer Dana Walden said at Bloomberg's Screentime event on Thursday that the company is still working through whether and how to keep Jimmy Kimmel on ABC. Walden called late-night a "very challenging day part" and said Kimmel's ratings are up, but relative to a smaller broadcast audience. She said millions watch parts of the show on demand on YouTube, which she described as not a lucrative opportunity for a premium talk show, and that Disney is trying to make sense of the business while honouring a deep partnership.

Walden added: "I love Jimmy. We have a great friendship," and said the question is what Kimmel wants and what is right for Disney's business. Page Six reported in September that Kimmel would step back from late-night when his contract expires in May 2027, after 24 years on the air; ABC said that was "inaccurate" and that reports on the show's future were "purely speculative". Deadline reported that Kimmel was in talks last month to renew his deal, and said Disney is trying to cut costs on the show while keeping a loyal star happy.

Deadline noted that late-night budgets are falling, citing CBS's cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and cuts at Late Night with Seth Meyers, and floated options such as taking the whole summer off or cutting costly New York trips that bring a 200-strong team. Kimmel has said the idea that late-night shows need to cost $120M is "crazy", and he recently discussed retirement on Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast. Variety recalled that ABC pulled the show "indefinitely" about a year ago after Nexstar said it would pre-empt it over Kimmel's jokes about the killing of Charlie Kirk, and that FCC chair Brendan Carr threatened action; the FCC later ordered ABC to file licence renewals early in April.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on.

Left2 outlets

Framing
Variety covers Walden's interview broadly, setting Kimmel's future within the political fight over free speech, Trump and the FCC.
Emphasis
Page Six report and ABC denial; Nexstar suspension, Carr's threats, FCC licence order; also Moana box office and layoffs.
Leaves out or plays down
Little on late-night cost-cutting options or Kimmel's own comments on costs.
Charged language
“symbols of free speech and resistance”“media crackdown”
For example
“Kimmel and his show have become symbols of free speech and resistance during President Donald Trump’s unprecedented term-two media crackdown.” — Variety

Centre1 outlet

Framing
Deadline treats it as a business story: why Disney hasn't re-signed Kimmel and how costs might be cut.
Emphasis
Budgets, Colbert and Meyers cuts, Kimmel's quotes on costs and retirement, possible savings.
Leaves out or plays down
Omits the Page Six report and ABC's denial, and most of the FCC detail.
Charged language
“free-speech hero”“walking a tightrope”
For example
“Disney is clearing trying to cut costs on Jimmy Kimmel Live! but is walking a tightrope to keep one of its most loyal company men” — Deadline

Right0 outlets

No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.