The host of ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! struck a deal with Disney to continue airing until 2027, according to sources close to the matter.
A report from Variety suggests Jimmy Kimmel is staying put on ABC — at least through 2027. The comedy veteran has reportedly signed a deal with Disney extending his tenure as host of Jimmy Kimmel Live! on ABC until sometime in 2027. Kimmel’s prior deal was believed to expire in 2026.
Kimmel first joined ABC in 2003, and in the two decades since he’s become one of the network’s late-night fixtures. In recent months, however, the late night host found himself at the center of a controversy surrounding comments made on the show following the assassination of right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk in September 2025. The resulting publicity crisis resulted in his show being “preempted indefinitely” from over 30 ABC stations owned by Sinclair; he was back on air less than a week later, including on the Sinclair stations. Amid the controversy, Disney’s investors demanded records to understand the reasoning behind the suspension decision.
One source close to the matter reports that the deal was actually signed over the summer, prior to the aforementioned drama. According to Bloomberg news, as reported by Reuters, the announcement of the deal was initially held back out of respect to Kimmel’s peer, Stephen Colbert, with the reveal from CBS that The Late Show with Stephen Colbert would be ending in May 2026.
The renewed contract suggests Disney’s continued commitment to Kimmel as a key part of its ABC programming, despite declining performance in the late night space. In staying with Disney and ABC, Kimmel remains among the longest-running late-night hosts on network television — at least until 2027.
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