Disney President Dodges Jimmy Kimmel Live Fate With a Grim Warning

Disney President Dana Walden declined to offer a clear answer about the future of ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! when questioned by Bloomberg. Instead, she described the late night television slot as “a very challenging daypart” while discussing the uncertain business surrounding the program.

“I’m not going to make that announcement here with you today,” Walden said Thursday when asked whether Jimmy Kimmel would keep his ABC talk show. Kimmel is currently working under a one year contract, while Disney owns the network airing his program.

Walden acknowledged that Kimmel’s ratings have increased, but she placed that improvement within the broader decline in the broadcast late night audience. Her answer highlighted the difficult calculations Disney and ABC are making as they consider what comes next for the show.

“The truth is, it’s a very challenging daypart,” Walden said. “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.”

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Jimmy Kimmel Live! and its host also have a strong presence online, but Walden said that digital attention does not offer the same financial benefits as television advertising. She described the online audience as “not a lucrative opportunity for a very premium talk show.”

That financial distinction appeared central to Walden’s comments. Views and clicks on social media platforms do not generate as much revenue as advertising attached to the program’s television broadcasts, according to the account of her remarks.

At the same time, Walden emphasized her relationship with Kimmel and his connections inside Disney. “We’re trying to make sense of the business while also honoring a deep partnership,” she said.

“I love Jimmy, we have great friendship. He’s close to a number of the people at Disney,” Walden continued. Her remarks presented the decision as both a business question and an issue involving an established relationship with the host.

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“We’re trying to work through it and make sense of, what does Jimmy want, what’s the right thing to do, and what’s the right thing for our business,” Walden added. She did not announce whether the program would continue beyond its current arrangement.

Kimmel signed a one year contract extension in December 2025 that allowed Jimmy Kimmel Live! to continue through the 2026 to 2027 season. The extension left the show’s longer term future unresolved, providing the backdrop for questions about whether ABC will retain the program.

Speculation increased last month after Page Six reported that the show would “end in 2027 after 24 years on air,” because Kimmel’s contract would not be renewed. ABC denied that the program’s fate had already been decided.

“Any reports about the future of the show at this point are purely speculative,” ABC told Page Six. The network’s response rejected the report while stopping short of providing a definitive commitment beyond Kimmel’s existing contract.

The uncertainty follows major budget cuts that ABC imposed on the show earlier this year, according to Breitbart News. Kimmel was instructed to reduce musical performances to two each week, down from one performance per broadcast, representing a 60% reduction.

Those budget cuts followed Kimmel’s brief suspension over remarks concerning the assassination of conservative icon and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk. The source described the host’s comments as shocking and noted that the suspension became another flashpoint surrounding the show.

Days after the suspension, Disney and ABC announced that Jimmy Kimmel Live! would return to the air following boycotts and backlash from the left. The program resumed, but Walden’s latest comments make clear that its business future remains unsettled.

For now, ABC has rejected reports claiming the end is already scheduled, while Walden has avoided promising that Kimmel will remain beyond the current contract. Her answer left Disney balancing television revenue, a smaller broadcast audience, online popularity and what she called a deep partnership.

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