ABC is pushing back against a new report suggesting that Jimmy Kimmel’s long-running late-night program will come to an end next year.

On Sept. 8, Page Six reported that “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” would conclude following the 2026–27 television season, when Kimmel’s contract is set to expire.

According to the report, the network was not planning on extending his current deal, potentially bringing the comedian’s 24-year run as host to a close in May.

ABC, however, is disputing that claim. A company spokesperson told The Epoch Times that the “information is inaccurate” and “any reports about the future of the show at this point are purely speculative.”

Just hours after the Page Six report was published, Kimmel returned from his annual summer hiatus with his first episode.

Rather than address the report directly, Kimmel used his opening monologue to reflect on the longevity of his show as it reached its 4,000th episode.

He also pointed to his confrontation with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), invoking Chairman Brendan Carr, while celebrating the fact that the program had survived attempts to challenge its continued broadcast.

Kimmel’s relationship with ABC came under pressure in 2025, following the Sept. 10 killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Kimmel used his late-night monologue to criticize the political reaction to the shooting.

“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said during his monologue at the time.

Carr also publicly criticized Kimmel and called for action involving the broadcast, while ABC subsequently suspended “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” before later announcing that the comedian would return.

As a result, Nexstar and Sinclair, two major owners of ABC-affiliated local stations, announced plans to preempt the program on stations they controlled.

This past April, President Donald Trump called for ABC and Disney to fire Kimmel, after the comedian joked that First Lady Melania Trump “had a glow like an expectant widow,” during a satirical segment about the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

“Wow, Jimmy Kimmel, who is in no way funny as attested to by his terrible Television Ratings, made a statement on his Show that is really shocking,” Trump wrote on Truth Social at the time.

Kimmel later rejected the characterization of his joke as an incitement to violence, saying the comment was intended as an age-gap joke rather than a threat.