ABC executives are expecting a massive ratings boost from Jimmy Kimmel’s return on Tuesday night, but the host ‘must play his cards right,’ sources told The U.S. Sun.
An insider close to production said ABC execs are eagerly anticipating Kimmel’s show to return Tuesday night, after nearly a week of closed-door talks with the comedian and his team in Los Angeles.
An insider told The U.S. Sun ABC execs are excited about the prospect of a ratings boost when Jimmy Kimmel Live! returns to air Tuesday night[/caption]
The insider said execs had been relieved by a lack of response on Kimmel’s return from the Trump administration thus far[/caption]
“Yesterday’s move was bold, and so far, execs are relieved by MAGA’s muted response,” the insider said of President Donald Trump‘s administration.
Meanwhile, the source added, “Everybody is excited about Kimmel’s expected ratings boost this week.
“Jimmy is becoming an icon for free speech… and now he’ll be even more secure as long as he plays his cards right,” the insider said of Kimmel.
The source also addressed Sinclair and Nexstar’s statements that the affiliate carriers wouldn’t be airing Kimmel’s return on their stations.
“There are ongoing talks this morning [Tuesday] between Nexstar and Sinclair with Disney, but Disney has drawn the line, and they are prepared for the fight.
Sinclair’s Monday night statement read, “Beginning Tuesday night, Sinclair will be preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live! across our ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming. Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return.”
Meanwhile, Nexstar said on Tuesday, the day of Kimmel’s return, “We made a decision last week to preempt Jimmy Kimmel Live! following what ABC referred to as Mr. Kimmel’s ‘ill-timed and insensitive’ comments at a critical time in our national discourse.
“We stand by that decision pending assurance that all parties are committed to fostering an environment of respectful, constructive dialogue in the markets we serve.
“In the meantime, we note that Jimmy Kimmel Live! will be available nationwide on multiple Disney-owned streaming products, while our stations will focus on continuing to produce local news and other programming relevant to their respective markets.”
However, the insider said, “The affiliates have obligations to carry ABC programming, and that advertisement is already sold.
“If they [Sinclair and Nextar] do this, they risk losing the ABC flag, all the ABC programming, the Monday night football.
“If you lose all that programming, and you’re the owner of the station, you’ll lose all those viewers,” the insider added.
The well-placed source said the affiliate carriers are “basically posturing for the White House,” and opined that the companies are attempting to breach their contracts with ABC.
Nexstar is hoping to be approved by the Trump administration’s FCC for an unprecedented takeover of it’s competitor, Tegna, which, if allowed, would likely exceed the current cap on households a company can reach, according to the New York Times.
“Disney legal is prepared to fight it out [with Sinclair and Nexstar], and right now from a brand perspective they’ve got nothing to lose by fighting,” the source said to The U.S. Sun, and added “Disney holds the cards here.”
The U.S. Sun reached out to ABC, Sinclair and Nexstar for comment.
LATE NIGHT DRAMA
The late-night show Jimmy Kimmel Live! was suspended following backlash over controversial comments the comedian made about the suspected shooter of the activist and influencer Charlie Kirk.
Just hours before Kimmel was set to return Tuesday night, the comedian shared his first post since he was pulled.
Jimmy posted a photo with his arm around his longtime friend, deceased producer Norman Lear, writing, “Missing this guy today.”
KIMMEL RETURNS
On Monday afternoon, ABC revealed that thoughtful discussions had taken place with the comedian since the suspension.
The statement read, “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.
“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.”
CHAOS ON SET
As The U.S. Sun exclusively revealed last week, the decision to pull Kimmel’s show was made just minutes before taping began on Wednesday, September 17th.
EXACTLY WHAT KIMMEL SAID THAT GOT HIM YANKED
This is Jimmy Kimmel’s opening monologue from Monday, September 15, that got the show pulled from air.
Kimmel said, “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang trying to characterize this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.
“In between the finger-pointing, the White House flew the flag at half-staff, which got some criticism, but on a human level, you can see how hard the president was taking this,” he continued before the show cut to a clip of Trump.
The president was seen standing on the White House lawn as a reporter asked him how he was “holding up” a day and a half following Kirk’s death.
“I think very good,” said Trump before abruptly pointing to trucks and saying they are starting construction on the new White House ballroom.
The show then cut back to Kimmel, who said, “He’s at the fourth stage of grief: construction,” before the audience burst out in laughter.
“This is not how an adult grieved the murder of someone he called a friend. This is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish. OK?”
Kimmel said this wasn’t the first time that Trump has dodged questions about Kirk, and the show cut to an interview the president had with Fox & Friends the morning after the conservative activist’s death.
Trump told the hosts that he was chatting with architects about the White House project when he learned about the shooting before the show cut back to Kimmel.
“And then we installed the most beautiful chandelier,” mocked Kimmel.
“Things transpired very fast. Word filtered down to the individual stations around 3 pm that Jimmy would get pulled, and it sent station heads panicking,” an insider shared.
“Jimmy and the crew were getting ready to film when, at 3:45 pm, news broke widely, and that’s how the crew found out. They were shocked.”
The insider added that Disney/ABC staffers had already been on edge in recent weeks due to heightened tensions.
Adding to the confusion, the source revealed, “ABC wouldn’t give a statement to affiliates so they could properly cover the story themselves.
“That left some stations in a situation where they had to make the call to skip coverage of the Kimmel story altogether in their newscasts.”
Kimmel’s $48 million contract with Disney, which owns ABC, is set to expire in 2026.
WHAT HAPPENED TO KIMMEL
Jimmy Kimmel’s future was cast into doubt after media company Nexstar and Sinclair called on its ABC-affiliated stations to stop airing Jimmy Kimmel Live! “for the foreseeable future.”
In a statement, Nexstar said, “Nexstar strongly objects to recent comments made by Mr. Kimmel concerning the killing of Charlie Kirk and will replace the show with other programming in its ABC-affiliated markets.”
Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar’s broadcasting division, criticized Kimmel’s remarks as “offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse.”
KIRK’S MURDER
Kirk was killed on September 10th while speaking with students at Utah Valley University in Orem.
Tyler Robinson, 22, allegedly fired a single shot at Kirk, according to officials.
Robinson turned himself in 33 hours later after confessing the crime to his family, Utah Governor Spencer Cox confirmed.
The insider said Kimmel is being heralded as a ‘free speech icon’ by insiders at ABC[/caption]
Kimmel, seen last week after his show was temporarily pulled from air, will likely see a ratings boost when he returns Tuesday night[/caption]
Kimmel was pulled from air after he made statements about Charlie Kirk’s suspected killer[/caption]
