ABC will not renew Jimmy Kimmel's contract beyond 2027, ending his late-night run after more than two decades, according to a new report, though the network insists the story is wrong.
Page Six reported Tuesday that Kimmel's one-year contract will not be extended past its current term, making the ongoing 24th season of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" the last. An unnamed source familiar with the situation told the outlet plainly: "His contract is not getting extended." The Hill reported that ABC pushed back swiftly, with a spokesperson calling the report inaccurate.
The spokesperson told The Hill directly:
"This information is inaccurate, any reports about the future of the show at this point are purely speculative."
But the denial lands against a backdrop that makes the report entirely plausible. Kimmel's show has been battered by affiliate defections, regulatory pressure from the FCC, and a public feud with President Trump that has cost the comedian airtime, reach, and, if the Page Six report holds, his show.
Kimmel, a longtime critic of President Trump, has clashed repeatedly with the administration throughout Trump's second term. In March, he used a parody State of the Union address to joke that first lady Melania Trump had the "glow" of an "expectant widow." Kimmel later argued the joke was about Trump's age, not a call for violence. Trump responded by calling on ABC to fire him.
The confrontations escalated last fall. After the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Kimmel mocked Trump's public response, comparing the president's mourning to grieving a "goldfish." Disney, ABC's parent company, briefly pulled Kimmel off the air and halted production of his show.
That suspension triggered a chain reaction across ABC's affiliate network. National Review reported that Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group, which together operate 66 ABC affiliate stations covering roughly one quarter of ABC's 240 affiliates nationwide, refused to carry "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" even after Disney reinstated the host.
The two broadcasting giants made their positions clear. Nexstar said it was standing by its decision "pending assurance that all parties are committed to fostering an environment of respectful, constructive dialogue in the markets we serve." Sinclair went further, replacing Kimmel's time slot with news programming across its ABC stations and calling on the comedian to make a "meaningful personal donation to the Kirk Family and Turning Point USA" as a condition for his return.
Losing a quarter of your affiliate footprint, including major markets like Washington, D.C., Nashville, and Seattle, is not a ratings hiccup. It is a structural blow to a show's advertising value and long-term viability.
The affiliate revolt was only one front. FCC Chair Brendan Carr threatened action against ABC and launched an early review of the network's broadcast licenses, a move that Disney challenged in court, with lawyers accusing the commission of attempting to censor the network in a July court filing.
Carr has continued to target ABC. The regulatory pressure has rippled beyond Kimmel's show, affecting how the network handles politically sensitive content across its programming. ABC has acknowledged that FCC scrutiny changed how "The View" books political guests, and the commission has separately moved to review Disney's broadcast licenses more broadly.
None of this happens in a vacuum. When a network faces license reviews, affiliate defections, and advertiser uncertainty over a single host, the business math gets simple fast, even if the network's public statements stay carefully vague.
Breitbart reported that the cancellation is driven by economic reasons under Disney boss Josh D'Amaro, not directly by Kimmel's feud with the president. A source told Page Six that D'Amaro is "not afraid of the administration" and "isn't folding." The show is reportedly set to end in May 2027 after 24 years on the air.
That framing, economics, not politics, may satisfy Disney's public relations needs. But the economics did not deteriorate on their own. A host who loses a quarter of his affiliate stations, draws presidential demands for his firing, and triggers an FCC license review has made himself an expensive proposition regardless of anyone's political courage.
Kimmel has hosted on ABC since 2003 and operates under one-year contracts, a structure that gives the network a clean exit ramp at any renewal point. Fox News Radio noted that Kimmel's contract expires in May 2027, aligning with the reported end date.
Kimmel's reported departure would follow Stephen Colbert's exit from CBS's "The Late Show" in May after an 11-year run. Colbert, who also had dust-ups with Trump, left a format that has struggled with declining audiences and rising production costs. The broader talent exodus at CBS has underscored the instability across legacy broadcast entertainment.
Kimmel marked the moment in his own way. The Washington Examiner reported that Kimmel aired a rerun on May 21 out of respect for Colbert's final broadcast, running new episodes earlier that week before stepping aside on the night his fellow host signed off. ABC confirmed the scheduling decision to Variety.
The gesture suggested Kimmel understood what Colbert's departure meant for the genre, and perhaps for his own future. The generation of late-night hosts who built their brands around opposition to Trump is thinning out, and the networks that carried them are reassessing whether the model still pays.
ABC's spokesperson called the Page Six report "purely speculative," but the network did not offer specifics. The statement did not say Kimmel's contract had been renewed. It did not say negotiations were underway. It did not commit to a 25th season. It said the report was inaccurate and left it there.
Kimmel himself has not responded publicly to the report. Whether he wants to continue, or whether the decision has already been made above him, remains unclear. The FCC's ongoing review of Disney's broadcast licenses adds another variable that neither the network nor the host controls.
What is clear is the trajectory. A show that once commanded a full national affiliate footprint now reaches a fraction of its former audience. A host who once traded political jabs without consequence now operates under the weight of affiliate boycotts, regulatory scrutiny, and a parent company that has already pulled him off the air once.
ABC can call the reports speculative. The facts underneath them are not.
