Bob Iger has been the CEO of Disney, off and on now, for about 20 years now, but people around him say the toughest decision he’s had to make during his tenure was to unsuspend his volatile late-night star Jimmy Kimmel — despite the TV host making some really dumb comments about who is responsible for the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
That decision, announced Monday, reflects the wonky economics surrounding his show, “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” Disney’s future dealings with the Trump administration that Kimmel bashes nightly, and to some degree of pressure from progressives in Hollywood, people close to the matter say.
The statement issued by Disney announcing Kimmel’s return doesn’t do justice to the intense deliberations inside the House of Mouse over whether to terminate Kimmel or give him a second chance. It simply restated what we already know that Kimmel was suspended last week for “ill-timed and thus insensitive comments,” and that he will return Tuesday night.
It didn’t mention if Kimmel will apologize, which is odd because Iger had suspended Kimmel because he flat out refused to say “I’m sorry” for his absurd suggestion in his monologue last Monday that the “MAGA gang” was looking to capitalize on Kirk’s assassination by making the killer out to be “anything other than one of them.”
The 22-year-old alleged assassin Tyler Robinson, police say, had become radicalized into left-wing and trans politics, and killed Kirk as revenge for his conservative views.
Such a dumb, false statement would get most people fired in the corporate world, because there is no First Amendment right to a job. The problem with axing Kimmel is that there’s lots of money on the line.
It would seem on the surface that the show loses upward of $20 million a year because his ratings have nose-dived in recent years, and ad revenues around the show have plummeted, people inside the company concede.
But Disney, the parent of ABC where “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” airs, squeezes a lot of juice out of Kimmel, people there tell me. There are affiliate fees for networks who pick up Kimmel’s programming, online ads and sponsorship deals. He hosts the Oscars, which helps with brand building.
The segments featuring his sidekick, Guillermo Rodriguez, is also a draw for advertisers, these people say. Taken together, all this means Kimmel, despite his annual salary of $16 million (nearly as much as his ad-revenue losses), a massive staff (200 people working on the show) and falling ratings, is profitable, my sources at Disney say.
“Jimmy makes money which makes this a difficult decision despite what he said,” a person close to the deliberations told me.
OK, but there are profits and then there are real profits.
Is Kimmel worth the hassle from the Trump administration that Disney needs to approve various deals, including its recent acquisition of the NFL’s media assets?
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr has made no secret that he’s not a Kimmel fan, and that the comedian’s remarks about Kirk could violate FCC rules that govern so-called free TV (as opposed to cable) that stipulate programming must meet a “public interest” standard. Stretching the truth over responsibility of Kirk’s death, even in a dopey joke, doesn’t meet any fair reading of public interest, Carr maintains.
It’s not just Disney that needs to worry. Affiliates Nexstar and Sinclair, which carry ABC programming like Kimmel, serve audiences that lean right, and face their own regulatory issues.
My sources say they are having difficulty selling ads against Kimmel because audiences are boycotting his show over his political views.
Nexstar is in a particularly tough spot. It has announced a $6 billion deal to purchase the stations owned by rival broadcaster Tegna pending approval from the FCC.
Iger also faces the wrath of middle America. Disney has been trying to move away from woke politics since Iger rejoined the company back in 2022, following same-sex kissing scenes in its programming aimed at children.
Further alienating Middle America could mean lower theme park attendance and boycotts of its movies and other forms of entertainment. Ad revenues will likely continue to dive as Disney and the rest of the broadcast business grapples with declining movie theater attendance, and how to monetize streaming.
Is all of that worth paying Jimmy Kimmel $16 million a year to hear him crack insensitive and dumb jokes about MAGA?
A Disney spokesman had no comment.
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