Disney Executive Gives Vague Answer on Future of Jimmy Kimmel Live
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What happened
Disney president and chief creative officer Dana Walden appeared Thursday at the Bloomberg Screentime summit and was asked whether Jimmy Kimmel would still be hosting ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" a year from now. Walden declined to answer, saying she would not make that announcement there. She called late night "a very challenging day part," said Kimmel's ratings are up but relative to a smaller broadcast audience, and said YouTube and on-demand viewing is not a lucrative substitute for a premium talk show. Kimmel is on a one-year contract extension signed in December 2025 that runs through the 2026-27 season; ABC has previously called reports that the show would end in 2027 purely speculative.
Sourcing check · Fully on the record · 3 articles
3 of 3 articles cite a named source for the story. It was on the record from the first report.
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BLINDSPOT.
Only right-leaning outlets are covering this story
— the other side's media is silent.
Omitted — what each side leaves out
Unpacked
Left-leaning coverage has not reported this story. Right-leaning coverage reports that Disney president Dana Walden refused to say whether Jimmy Kimmel will still host his ABC show a year from now. She told a Bloomberg event she would not announce it there. She then called late night a "very challenging daypart" while saying she loves him. Readers who rely on the silent side would not know Disney's chief creative officer declined to commit, or that she framed the uncertainty as a business problem rather than a political one.
Right-leaning outlets split on what to stress. Fox News pairs the dodge with Conan O'Brien likening late night's decline to Detroit. Breitbart instead foregrounds Kimmel as a "left-wing TV host" and his remarks about Charlie Kirk.
What does Disney make or lose on Jimmy Kimmel Live each year?
Bottom line
Disney president Dana Walden would not tell Bloomberg whether Jimmy Kimmel will still be hosting, and Fox News and Breitbart ran that refusal while left-leaning outlets have not.
The receipts — 6 facts one side's coverage lacks
- Disney president Dana Walden declined to say whether Jimmy Kimmel would remain ABC's late-night host, telling a Bloomberg event she would not make that announcement there
- ABC said any reports about the future of Jimmy Kimmel Live at this point are purely speculative
- Kimmel signed a one-year contract extension in December 2025 that runs through the 2026-27 season
- Kimmel reportedly makes about $16 million a year
- Jimmy Kimmel Live averaged 2 million viewers during the 2025-26 season
- Walden said Kimmel's YouTube and on-demand audience is not a lucrative opportunity for a very premium talk show
The Right View
Fox News, Breitbart, and the New York Post reported Walden's refusal to say Kimmel will remain on air, treating the non-answer as a dodge or "telling clue" about the show's future. They quoted her remarks that late night is economically difficult, that digital views do not replace traditional ad revenue, and that Disney is trying to balance a "deep partnership" with Kimmel against what is right for the business. The outlets also recapped a brief ABC suspension of the show in September 2025 over Kimmel's comments about the killing of Charlie Kirk, later controversy over a joke about Melania Trump, reported budget cuts, and a Page Six item—denied by ABC—that the show would end in 2027. They placed the comments in a wider late-night contraction, citing Conan O'Brien's remarks at the same event and CBS's cancellation of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."
Our Take (balanced)
The core event is substantive: Walden's remarks were made on the record at a named industry summit, with identifiable speakers, checkable quotes, and a documented contract window through the 2026-27 season. Established facts are that Disney's No. 2 executive would not commit to Kimmel hosting a year from now, cited shrinking late-night economics, and said the company is still weighing Kimmel's wishes against the business. Unconfirmed is whether ABC will actually renew or end the show after that season; a prior Page Six report that it would end in 2027 remains denied by ABC as speculative. No left-leaning outlet has reported this. Watch for a formal Disney or ABC statement on the contract, any financial or ratings disclosures that clarify the show's profitability, and whether executives address the question again on the record.
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