Jimmy Kimmel Remains on Very Thin Ice

Howard Stern has a warning to anyone who thinks Jimmy Kimmel could be the next late-night host to get cancelled.

“[Kimmel] has done everything for [ABC]. And I hope that they keep that in mind … Oh my God. I don’t know about you, but if something goes wrong, oh, is ABC going to have hell to pay. Am I correct? Are you with me?”

Yawn.

Stern is an afterthought in the culture these days, a once-mighty voice who betrayed his core principles over the last decade.

The talker’s warning still matters. Why? Kimmel’s future is very much in doubt.

Disney’s No. 2 exec gives telling clue about Jimmy Kimmel’s future at ABC https://t.co/LZjWeBQ3IN pic.twitter.com/9TmkAUqlxt
— New York Post (@nypost) October 2, 2026

The talker signed a one-year contract extension last December, an oddly short figure for a late-night institution. That alone raised some eyebrows, along with Kimmel’s meandering thoughts on retirement.

Yes. No. Maybe. Soon. Who knows? That’s the best way to sum up his recent comments on the topic.

Who says he’ll be the one to make the call? We just saw CBS cancel not just “The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert but the show in toto. Other late-night programs are either going away, contracting or tightening their belts.

“The Tonight Show” went from five nights a week to four, while “Late Night with Seth Meyers” can no longer afford a house band. And revenues, across the board, are cratering for late-night talk shows.

Where does that leave Kimmel?

Disney president and chief creative officer Dana Walden has the answer. Except the answer captures the true nature of late-night TV heading into 2027.

The format is on borrowed time.

“It’s a very challenging daypart, late-night,” Walden said during her Thursday morning conversation at Bloomberg’s Screentime. “That’s not to say that Jimmy is not doing a phenomenal job, and his ratings are up, but they’re up relative to a smaller audience that’s watching late night on broadcast television.”

Translation: We need a major budget cut to continue “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

An earlier report suggested that figure could be 20 percent. Will it happen? Might Kimmel swallow his pride and re-up for a more modest paycheck? It’ll still be in the millions, of course, so it’s hardly a charity case.

Unless money and ego are more important than “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” to its host.

Kimmel’s ratings got a boost from his incessant Trump bashing and “The Late Show’s” demise. He’s now the highest-rated show in that landscape (excluding “Gutfeld!” which airs 90 minutes earlier).

It’s still not enough, apparently.

That summons a key question no Legacy Media outlet is willing to ask. If Colbert’s “Late Show” was losing CBS $40 million a year, does “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” actually make a profit? If not, how much is ABC willing to lose to keep him employed?

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