Disney’s Dana Walden on Jimmy Kimmel’s Late Night Future: “It’s Challenging” - The Hollywood Reporter
Disney executive Dana Walden addressed the uncertain future of 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!', noting that the late-night format faces significant economic challenges. While the show maintains a loyal audience, the shift away from traditional broadcast advertising makes the business model difficult to sustain.
Why it matters
The struggle to monetize late-night television in the streaming era highlights the broader decline of traditional broadcast media revenue models.
Dana Walden joked at the beginning of her Bloomberg Screentime session Thursday that her job was to “keep this seat warm for Casey Bloys, who’s bringing the real news.”
Disney’s president and chief creative officer stuck to that promise when asked about the future of Jimmy Kimmel Live! Kimmel signed a one-year contract extension in December 2025 to keep hosting the late night show through the 2026-27 season, and Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw asked Walden if the host would be sticking around.
“I’m not going to make that announcement here with you today,” Walden said. “Again, I’m letting Casey make the news.” (Bloys, the head of HBO and HBO Max, is the presumptive front-runner to head up streaming at the combined Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery when that megamerger closes in the coming days.)
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