Disney plans to bring “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” back to air on ABC’s broadcast network beginning on Tuesday, the company said in a statement.
The decision was announced nearly a week after ABC said it was suspending the late night show indefinitely. The network had pulled the show days after the host made comments linking the alleged killer of conservative activist Charlie Kirk to President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement.
“Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country. It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive,” Disney said in a statement Monday. “We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday.”
The late night host will address the matter during his show set to be taped on Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters.
Following days of discussions, Disney CEO Bob Iger and Dana Walden, co-chair of Disney Entertainment, made the decision to return the show to air, the person said. The two executives informed Kimmel on Monday, the person added.
Jimmy Kimmel at the Disney Advertising Upfront on Tuesday, May 13, 2025.
Michael Le Brecht | Disney General Entertainment Content | Getty Images
The show was suspended after Nexstar Media Group, which owns more than 200 broadcast TV stations across the U.S., announced its stations affiliated with ABC would preempt Kimmel’s show. Similarly, Sinclair, another large broadcast TV station owner, had also threatened to preempt the show.
Sinclair said in a release last week that it would not lift the suspension on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” until it had formal discussions with ABC “regarding the network’s commitment to professionalism and accountability.”
Representatives for Nexstar and Sinclair didn’t immediately respond to comment on Monday.
Immediately following the suspension of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” many weighed in on whether Kimmel should return to air, and whether it should affect station owners’ standing with their broadcast licenses.
Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr had suggested ABC’s broadcast license was at risk in light of the comments, telling CNBC “we’re not done yet” with changes to the media landscape.
The suspension drew comparisons to CBS’s cancellation of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” in July and raised questions about the protection of free speech in a Trump-era broadcast environment.
Trump’s scrutiny of media companies has intensified during his second term marked by high-profile defamation lawsuits, the defunding of public broadcasters and regulatory interference from the FCC. He’s particularly singled out ABC and NBC for what he called “unfair coverage of Republicans and/or Conservatives.”
Current and former late show hosts including Colbert and David Letterman rallied behind Kimmel after the suspension and said the president’s influence amounted to censorship. Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner blasted the FCC’s “intimidation” of ABC.
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Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal, which owns CNBC. Versant would become the new parent company of CNBC upon Comcast’s planned spinoff of Versant.
