ABC will pay the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” crew next week even as the show remains off the air following its indefinite suspension, according to a staff note sent Friday while talks continue about a path back to broadcast. The payment move landed as negotiations between Disney executives and the host’s team focus on standards language and carriage assurances from major station groups that balked after Kimmel’s comments related to the killing of activist Charlie Kirk.
The show was pulled midweek after multiple affiliates said they would not air it, prompting the network to replace the late-night slot with alternative programming. An ABC spokesperson said the program would be “pre-empted indefinitely,” and industry scheduling lists show the hour being filled by reruns while the impasse persists.
The suspension sparked a broader fight over political speech on broadcast television. A senior federal regulator publicly pressed affiliates to drop the show, drawing criticism from legal scholars and elected officials who warned that government pressure on programming decisions risks crossing First Amendment lines. The dispute has become a flashpoint for late night, where peers used monologues to defend the principle that disputed commentary should be met with rebuttal rather than removal.
Within the industry, attention has centered on whether ABC can secure consistent clearances from station owners while addressing accuracy, tone and advertiser sensitivities. Station groups’ demands have ranged from on-air clarification to other corrective steps before carriage resumes, and reporting from inside the production describes uncertainty among staff about the timeline for resolution. As of Friday evening, no return date had been announced, though paying crew buys time for negotiations while avoiding immediate hardship for below-the-line workers.
