“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” airs every weekday at 11:35 p.m. ET and features a diverse cast of guests, including celebrities, athletes, musical acts, comedians, and relationship subjects, as well as comedy bits and the house band.
Randy Holmes | Disney General Entertainment Content | Getty Images
Jimmy Kimmel, late night talk show host disneyABC is taking some precautions in the face of scrutiny from the Federal Communications Commission.
Kimmel announced Wednesday night that his interview with Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico will not be aired on national television. The interview will instead be broadcast on YouTube on Thursday.
“Somehow, I don’t know why, something changed,” Kimmel said on Wednesday night’s broadcast. “Now that (Trump) is president, his FCC has threatened me, threatened our program, threatened our network, ABC, our affiliates, our local stations, based on simple, traditional editorial decisions.”
He added that the decision not to air the interview on television was “a no-consideration” for the ABC affiliates, who would have to deal with “this nonsense” of FCC scrutiny.
“In the America we live in right now, that’s the best we can do until November,” Kimmel said.
The FCC did not respond to requests for comment.
Talarico, a Texas congressman, is locked in a close race with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has President Donald Trump’s support in the Senate. Polls show Talarico slightly ahead of Paxton, a controversial figure in Texas who was impeached by the state House of Representatives on corruption charges. He was acquitted by the state Senate.
In January, the FCC questioned whether television talk shows were “bona fide” news programs and therefore exempt from equal airtime rules for political candidates. Another ABC show, “The View,” is facing similar scrutiny from the FCC.
Kimmel said Wednesday that he has been interviewing political candidates for years, including Trump himself.
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico speaks at a campaign rally at the Caillou Theater on August 31, 2026 in Kerrville, Texas.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images
Kimmel’s show has become a lightning rod for debates over broadcast rights, First Amendment protections, and government intervention.
Last year, ABC affiliate owners opted not to air “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” After the comments he made during the monologue after Charlie Kirk’s murder. ABC suspended the show for about a week, but Kimmel later said, “I did not mean to make light of the murder of a young man.”
But ABC has since been under pressure from the Trump administration.
The FCC began the early renewal process for ABC-owned stations in April, citing an investigation into the company’s diversity, equity and inclusion practices.
ABC applied for license renewal, but in August it filed a lawsuit citing First Amendment concerns and calling the investigation into the company a “retaliatory campaign.”
—CNBC’s Garrett Downs contributed to this report.
