ABC signs Jimmy Kimmel to a 1-year contract extension, months after temporary suspension
CBC
U.S. President Donald Trump won't be getting his wish. ABC said Monday it has signed late-night comic Jimmy Kimmel to a one-year contract extension.
Kimmel's previous, multi-year contract had been set to expire next May, so the extension will keep him on the air until at least May 2027.
Kimmel's future looked questionable in September, when ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live! for remarks made following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Following a public outcry, ABC lifted the suspension, and Kimmel returned to the air with much stronger ratings than he had before.
He continued his relentless joking at the president's expense, leading Trump to urge the network to "get the bum off the air" in a social media post last month.
The host and Disney had agreed on the extension months ago and delayed announcing their plans out of respect for fellow late-night host Stephen Colbert, according to Bloomberg News, which had reported the development earlier. Kimmel's current contract expires in May next year.
Colbert's The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will end its 10-year run on CBS, owned by Paramount Skydance, in May 2026. The network announced this summer it was ending Colbert's show for economic reasons, even though it is the top-rated network show in late-night television.
Disney had temporarily pulled Kimmel's show off the air after Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr said the host misled viewers about Kirk's alleged shooter's affiliation with Trump's Make America Great Again movement.
Carr is set to testify on Dec. 17 before the Senate's commerce committee after he faced bipartisan criticism for pressuring broadcasters to take Kimmel off the air.
Following Kirk's killing, Kimmel was criticized for saying that "the MAGA gang" was "desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it."
The Nexstar and Sinclair television ownership groups said it would take Kimmel off the air, leading to ABC's suspension.
When he returned to the air, Kimmel did not apologize for his remarks, but he said he did not intend to blame any specific group for Kirk's assassination. He said "it was never my intention to make the light of the murder of a young man."
Kimmel's show has been airing on ABC since 2003. He also hosted the Academy Awards show four times and the Emmy Awards telecast on three occasions.
Most of Kimmel's recent renewals have been multi-year extensions. There was no immediate word on whose choice it was to extend his current contract by one year.
