Negotiations over the future of Jimmy Kimmel Live! have reportedly hit an impasse, with Disney seeking significant reductions to the late-night program’s budget.
A report by Puck’s Matthew Belloni addressed fresh questions about the show after Page Six reported Tuesday that Kimmel’s current season would be his “last,” citing sources.
ABC quickly pushed back on that claim, calling the report “purely speculative” and “inaccurate.”
Writing Friday, Belloni said the negotiations have been delayed by Disney Chairman Debra OConnell’s firm directive that the show reduce spending.
“A strong source close to the situation told me 20 percent of the current budget was a fair estimate,” Belloni wrote.
OConnell oversees ABC’s full programming slate. Kimmel’s contract is set to expire in May, after he agreed last year to a one-year extension instead of his customary three-year deal.
Belloni, a prominent source of Hollywood industry reporting, said two sources estimated that Jimmy Kimmel Live! costs about $100 million annually to produce.
That figure is similar to the cost of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, which has already been canceled. CBS pulled the program in May, citing financial reasons.
The future of Jimmy Kimmel Live! reportedly hinges on whether the show’s producers accept a major budget reduction.
Disney Chairman Debra OConnell, pictured with ABC News chief Almin Karamehmedovic at last year’s Oscars, made the budget-cut request as negotiations continued, according to Puck.
Belloni framed OConnell’s request as ‘a big ask for a show like Jimmy Kimmel Live!’
The program is currently in its 24th season.
Moreover, its host is ready to call it quits – at least not just yet, according to sources who spoke with Puck.
Kimmel ‘feels a bit of a responsibility to carry the torch as late night’s thorn in the president’s side,’ Belloni wrote.
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He reportedly wants to keep his platform until after the 2028 election, meaning at least another two years.
‘The last thing he wants is to give [Donald] Trump and his lapdog tormentor a reason to celebrate,’ added Belloni, with the other figure referenced being Federal Communications Commission (FCC) boss Brendan Carr.
Kimmel accused Carr of ‘threaten[ing] me, threaten[ing] our show, threaten[ing] our network, ABC, our affiliates, our local stations, based on simple, traditional, editorial decisions, guest bookings it would seem they don’t like.’
He claimed that the agency acted on behalf of the Trump administration to censor his interview with rising Dallas Democrat James Talarico. ABC posted it to YouTube rather than broadcast TV as originally planned Thursday night.
Reporter Matthew Belloni framed the request as ‘a big ask for a show like Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ Sources said Kimmel, 58, wants to stay on for at least another two years
The FCC is currently probing ABC’s right to broadcast on public airwaves, as well as potential violations of the equal time rule, a nearly century-old guidance originally meant to stop stations from swaying the outcomes of elections with repeat candidate appearances.
Exemptions enjoyed since the ’90s allowed The View and certain late night shows free rein to book guests while being treated as ‘bona fide newscasts.’ Carr’s ongoing probe put the arrangements under scrutiny.
He has denied that the review stems from another crack from Kimmel, 58, in April where the host said Melania Trump exuded all the glow of an ‘expectant widow.’
Carr was the one to tell conservative podcaster Benny Johnson that the host could face a probe for his September 2025 crack about the alleged killer of Charlie Kirk, after which several local ABC affiliates refused to put Kimmel on the air.
Disney went on to suspend the show for four days.
The FCC has not revoked a broadcast license in more than four decades, with the last instance occurring in 1969 in Jackson, Mississippi, following allegations of defending segregation on-air against WLBT-TV.
Kimmel, meanwhile, returned to the air on Tuesday after taking three months for a summer break.
The FCC is not part of the presidential administration and is its own independent entity.