Mass deletions of Disney, Hulu accounts: Why ABC may have resumed Jimmy Kimmel’s show

“We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday,” it added.

US President Donald Trump had celebrated when Kimmel was taken off air, saying more late night show hosts should receive the axe. In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump had said, “Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done. Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible,” urging another network, NBC, to take down shows by Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers. “That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!!”

A grassroots boycott campaign

An analysis of Google Trends, which shows the most commonly searched things on the website, queries related to canceling Disney+ and Hulu (also owned by Disney) saw a sharp spike on September 18 – a day after the show was pulled – and kept rising until September 20.

Other related queries which saw a similar spike in that time include Disney+ and Hulu’s “boycott,” how to cancel ESPN (also owned by Disney) subscription, people asking whether Disney owns Hulu and ESPN, and those looking for directions on how to delete their paid accounts.

Although it is worth noting that the actual financial impact of the grassroots boycott drive on Disney and its subsidiaries is unclear, it could have played a role in the company deciding to resume the show, given that some key networks have still not agreed to do so. Sinclair, a company that operates more than 35 ABC affiliates across the US, said that it would replace Kimmel with news programming.

What did Kimmel say about Charlie Kirk?

During his opening monologue last week, Kimmel suspected that Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson was a MAGA (Make America Great Again) Republican. “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterise 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 on his show.

He also criticised flags being flown at half mast in honour of Kirk, and mocked Trump’s reaction to the shooting. “This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he calls a friend. This is how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish,” said Kimmel.

Kimmel’s comments had earlier drawn criticism from Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr, who had also threatened ABC’s licence. In a podcast, Carr said “What people don’t understand is that the broadcasters … have a licence granted by us at the FCC, and that comes with it an obligation to operate in the public interest. When we see stuff like this, look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct, on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”

The ABC’s decision to indefinitely take Kimmel’s show off air came shortly after Nexstar, one of the largest local broadcast station groups in the US, said it would preempt ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ beginning Wednesday night over the host’s comments about Kirk. Carr has thanked Nexstar for “doing the right thing”.

Late-night shows face the brunt

For decades, late-night chat shows have epitomised free speech ideals in the US, where hosts could speak truth to power, and regularly make fun of them, with very little fear of state retribution. It’s a format that many countries have tried emulating with varying degrees of success. Of course, they faced competition from online content creators who built up sizable audiences of their own, at a fraction of the costs it takes to produce a television show.

But, beyond their social relevance, it is the involvement of political compulsions that is today clear in a way that has never been before. Earlier this year, American broadcaster CBS decided to cancel Stephen Colbert’s talk show citing financial constraints.

However, several suspected that there were reasons deeper than that. The show’s cancellation came just days after Colbert delivered an on-air monologue criticising Paramount’s – CBS’ parent company’s – controversial $16 million legal settlement with Donald Trump over a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris, which many see as a quiet payoff to avoid further scrutiny.