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Jimmy Kimmel<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Disney<\/a>\u00a0are working toward reaching a compromise that would allow \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live\u201d to return to\u00a0ABC<\/a>.<\/p>\n The veteran host\u2019s business and legal representatives are deep in discussions with Disney and ABC leaders in the hopes of finding a path to a compromise that would allow for the return of \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live,\u201d according to three people with knowledge of the situation.<\/p>\n The host has made no public comment since the show was abruptly\u00a0pulled from its regular 11:35 p.m. slot on Sept. 17<\/a>, with Disney saying only that the program would be off of its schedule \u201cindefinitely\u201d after one of the biggest owners of TV stations in the U.S.,\u00a0Nexstar<\/a>, said it intended to pre-empt airings of the program following remarks the host made in relation to Trump and the slaying of conservative activist\u00a0Charlie Kirk<\/a>. Sinclair, another large station owner, said it too was taking Kimmel off of its stations. Kimmel has hosted ABC\u2019s late-night franchise since 2003 and in recent years has become a key face of the network as the host of \u201cWho Wants to Be a Millionaire,\u201d the Academy Awards and other specials.<\/p>\n There is no guarantee Kimmel and Disney will come to terms on agreement to return to the airwaves, these people cautioned. Nor is it clear where Kimmel\u2019s mindset stands on what he would and would not accept from ABC as conditions of taking the stage again for \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live.\u201d It\u2019s understood that Kimmel is mindful of the effects a shutdown would have on dozens of his production staffers as well as vendors in Los Angeles who work on the show, according to one source with knowledge of the situation. The host is also aware some staff and crew members are still digging out of the financial hole created by the months-long writers and actors strikes in 2023.<\/p>\n Disney representatives declined to comment. Kimmel\u2019s media representative did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n The incendiary situation around Kimmel has unleashed a torrent of criticism of Disney from the left and right. Free speech advocates have decried the company\u2019s swift move to take Kimmel off the air. Conservatives have cheered and Trump has reiterated his threat to push for broadcast networks to lose their licenses for allowing anti-Trump and anti-MAGA voices on their airwaves. Demonstrations\u00a0erupted on Thursday<\/a>\u00a0outside Disney offices in New York and Burbank and outside the theater complex in Hollywood where \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live\u201d is produced.<\/p>\n There is no doubt that Kimmel and Disney need to proceed with caution. The company needs many TV stations to distribute \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live\u201d across the U.S. if it is to generate the ratings the network has guaranteed to advertisers. Ad spending on \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live\u201d totaled $51.1 million in 2024, according to data from Guideline, a tracker of ad spending, accounting for 21% of all advertising on late night programs.<\/p>\n It\u2019s understood that ABC and Disney brass had been flagging concerns to Kimmel for some time about the sharpness of his critiques of President Donald Trump and his unprecedented takeover of federal agencies. Kimmel has, like other commentators, not held back in his disdain for the Trump administration\u2019s campaign with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to round up suspected undocumented immigrants on the streets and in workplaces, without regard for constitutional norms of due process and equal justice.<\/p>\n At the same time, Kimmel\u2019s remarks on Monday about how conservatives were using Kirk\u2019s death to make political points and about President Trump\u2019s muted reaction to the matter while talking to reporters has spurred a Republican crusade. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr\u00a0threatened earlier on Wednesday<\/a>\u00a0to take action against ABC. After Disney\u2019s decision was revealed, Carr said he wanted \u201cto thank Nexstar for doing the right thing\u201d in a statement on social media. \u201cLocal broadcasters have an obligation to serve the public interest. While this may be an unprecedented decision, it is important for broadcasters to push back on Disney programming that they determine falls short of community.\u201d Since that time, Carr has made more statements suggesting he might investigate other Disney shows, like \u201cThe View.\u201d<\/p>\n As the controversy swirled, Disney executives felt they had no choice but to bump Kimmel in order to let the MAGA media-fueled controversy subside.<\/p>\n All the media companies involved are likely to have matters under government review in months to come. Nexstar is in the midst of trying to\u00a0acquire another large TV station owner, Tegna, for $6.2 billion<\/a>, a transaction that requires the approval of the FCC. A Nexstar spokesman has said Carr\u2019s comments had no bearing on its decision to pre-empt Kimmel\u2019s show.\u00a0Sinclair<\/a>\u00a0last month announced\u00a0a \u201ccomprehensive strategic review\u201d of its broadcast business<\/a>; any M&A involving local TV stations would be subject to FCC review and approval.<\/p>\n Disney, too, will require government permission to move forward in some critical business initiatives. The company has secured a deal that will give the National Football League a 10% stake in its giant ESPN sports-media outlet, and is also working to buy a majority stake in the Fubo live-streaming service and merge it with a similar product tied to live viewing TV networks via its own Hulu.<\/p>\n Free speech advocates from both sides of the political aisle have decried the moves that forced Kimmel\u2019s show off the air. Both Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, and the American Civil Liberties Union, have suggested that government should not silence dissenting voices in America, as the ability to speak one\u2019s mind is paramount in the U.S.<\/p>\n Kimmel, who has hosted his late night program on ABC since 2003, has in recent years weighed when he might step down from his midnight duties. People who know him say he is closer to the end of his late-night tenure than the beginning. But he also knows that the show helps him with other Disney-backed activities, such as hosting the current edition of ABC\u2019s \u201cWho Wants To Be a Millionaire,\u201d and other projects.<\/p>\n The host knows he has better roads to take to an exit, and Disney seemed interested in working with him to draw a map.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Jimmy Kimmel\u00a0and\u00a0Disney\u00a0are working toward reaching a compromise that would allow \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live\u201d to return to\u00a0ABC. The veteran host\u2019s business and legal representatives are deep in discussions with … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":38997,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38998","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=38998"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38998\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38999,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38998\/revisions\/38999"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/38997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=38998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=38998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=38998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}