Disney president Dana Walden has addressed the future of Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Disney is trying to figure out the future of Jimmy Kimmel Live!
The company’s president and chief operating officer Dana Walden has addressed the status of Jimmy Kimmel’s long running late night show, with its contract set to expire in May 2027.
Speaking on Bloomberg’s Screentime, Walden said: “It’s a very challenging daypart, late night.
“That’s not to say that Jimmy is not doing a phenomenal job, and his ratings are up, but they’re up relative to a smaller audience that’s watching late night on broadcast television.”
The Disney executive acknowledged that the Jimmy Kimmel Live! YouTube channel does have “millions of people” watching parts of the show “on demand”.
However, Walden added: “That is not a lucrative opportunity for a very premium talk show, so we’re trying to make sense of the business while also honouring a deep partnership.
“I love Jimmy. We have a great friendship. He’s close to a number of the people at Disney, and again, we’re trying to work through it and make sense of both.
“What does Jimmy want? What’s the right thing to do, and what’s the right thing for our business?”
Jimmy Kimmel Live! has been on air since 2003, while the show was briefly suspended in September last year after the hot’s comments following the death of right wing activist Charlie Kirk.
The show was reinstated days later, but the incident and the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s Late Show means Kimmel is feeling “a little bit defeated” about the future of the format.
Back in June, he told Vulture: “In a lot of ways, I feel like I’m looking at my own future.
“There are far more people watching late-night TV than there ever were, if you look at the number of views me and my colleagues get online every day and add in our linear-television ratings.
“We’re not just dying of natural causes. We’re being poisoned.”
Earlier this month, Disney-owned ABC played down reports claiming the show was going to wrap in May 2027 after 24 seasons due to its contract not being renewed.
A spokesperson said in a statement: “This information is inaccurate. Any reports about the future of the show at this point are purely speculative.”
When Jimmy Kimmel Live! was briefly off air last year, the host’s daughter Jane, 12, was heartbroken as she’s convinced she will inherit the talk show.
During an appearance on the Dax Shephard’s Armchair Expert podcast, it was previously revealed Jane “started crying, because her show was going away”.
Jimmy, who joked her reaction was “annoying and presumptuous”, explained: “For whatever reason, she’s decided, even though she’s one of my four children, that she is taking over the show.
“It was never a conversation even. It was just like, ‘Yeah, I will, of course, run the family business.’ “
Future of Jimmy Kimmel Live uncertain as Disney boss admits ‘challenging’ situation
