Late night has been slowly bleeding to death of late. It actually probably all started when Conan O’Brien exited TBS, or if we want to stick with network TV, when James Corden left The Late Late Show. Instead of finding a replacement, CBS took the series off the air. Then CBS got out of the traditional late night game entirely. Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show was cancelled last year and officially went off the air in May. I thought we’d managed to stymie the bleed, but these comments from an ABC head honcho are worrying.
I mean really worrying. This week, Dana Walden was straight up asked why Jimmy Kimmel Live! hasn’t been renewed yet at a Bloomberg Screentime event. The Disney CCO admitted figuring out the gig was “challenging” and went on to mention CBS wasn’t lying when they said the landscape was tough. She praised Kimmel, but noted (via Deadline).
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. Obviously, there’s a YouTube channel [and] millions of people are watching on demand the parts of that show. That is not a lucrative opportunity for a very premium talk show. So, we’re trying to make sense of the business while also honoring a deep partnership.
To give you some context, first, we know the money isn’t coming in for late night at the same rate it used to come in. An ugly financial report that came out when all the Colbert brouhaha was happening indicated late night revenue was down considerably, dropping from $439 million in 2018 to $220 million a couple of years ago. A more recent report indicated that by 2025 that number was only at $209 million. Like many industries right now, things are trending downwards, not upwards.
Compounding matters is the fact Jimmy Kimmel actually wanted out of the game at one point. The man’s been in charge of Jimmy Kimmel Live! since 2003, which means the show is not that far off from it’s 25th anniversary. It’s been a long run, and the late night game takes a lot out of you. In fact, Kimmel’s contract is up in May of 2027, and originally it was expected that might be the end of the host’s run.
What’s Allegedly Changed For Kimmel (But Maybe Not ABC)
We know the ratings for both of the Jimmys, but especially for Kimmel, are up in the wake of The Late Show wrapping. In fact the latter has seen a 24% increase in viewership since the other oft-political late night host left the air. Kimmel’s had more of a political sense of purpose since the FCC and Trump started weighing in on late night, and several behind-the-scenes reports have indicated he has more leverage now than during previous times in the shows history. He seems fired up, not ready to wind down.
But the ad dollars are the ad dollars, and it’s unclear to me if Dana Walden’s comments are a warning or a level-set in terms of expectations if another contract is going to be signed. Still, her not really celebrating Kimmel’s giant increase in total viewership and exponential increase in the advertising demo, where he is reportedly up 112%, is really worrying to me. At best, that’s a very diplomatic response.
There’s a lot that’s up in the air right now. First, again Kimmel’s contract is up at the end of this current TV season. If he can’t work out a deal with ABC or decides to call it quits, that will make NBC the sole creators of late night television. As much as I love Jimmy Fallon’s less political stance and fun games, what Kimmel has been doing lately has been something different and has been add value in the TV landscape. He’s catering to a completely different audience than Fallon is.
Kimmel himself has stated he feels the late night landscape is "being poisoned," and I don't want him to be the next to bleed off. Plus, where the heck are the Avengers going to go to promote movies if ABC and Disney don’t have a talk show? I’m just saying.
