This week, at a media industry conference in Hollywood, Disney president Dana Walden was put on the spot about Jimmy Kimmel’s future at ABC. Seated across from interviewer Lucas Shaw on a plush white couch, Walden listened as the Bloomberg media reporter rattled off the late-night comedian’s recent accolades.
Kimmel’s ratings are up, and he’s become a “free speech hero,” as Shaw put it, after coming under attack from Donald Trump’s administration. Why isn’t it a no-brainer to keep “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” running well into its third decade on ABC?
“OK, that’s a good question,” Walden said, offering an ominous glimpse into the thinking behind Kimmel’s uncertain future—remarks that sent a jolt through the industry and prompted one veteran television executive to tell Status that…
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