Dec 8 (Reuters) – Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel has signed a one-year contract extension with television network ABC and will continue to host his show through May 2027, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.
Kimmel returned to ABC’s late-night television lineup in September after a nearly week-long suspension over remarks on his show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk that corporate parent Disney described as “insensitive.”
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.
Disney had temporarily pulled Kimmel’s show off the air after Federal Communications Commission Chairman 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 December 17 before the Senate Commerce Committee after he faced bipartisan criticism for pressuring broadcasters to take Kimmel off the air.
(Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City)
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