Jimmy Kimmel Plans On Stepping Down From Late-Night in Two Years; Stephen A. Aiming To Replace Him

Jimmy Kimmel’s contract with ABC runs through 2026. He believes his current deal will be his final with the network. 

His contract is worth around $15 million per year, according to NBC News. The deal includes hosting late-night television on weekdays and occasionally the Oscars. 

"I think this is my final contract," Kimmel told the Los Angeles Times this week. 

"In those moments, I think, ‘I cannot wait until my contract is over,’" he adds. "But then, I take the summer off or I go on strike, and you start going, ‘Yeah, I miss the fun stuff.’ "

"[Two more years] seems pretty good. That seems like enough," he said.

US President Joe Biden sits next to host Jimmy Kimmel as he makes his first in-person appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" during his Los Angeles visit to attend the Summit of the Americas, in Hollywood, California, June 8, 2022. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

ABC would have a decision to make post-Kimmel about whether to replace him or cease late-night programming entirely.

Late-night television is pricey and increasingly difficult to monetize.

Across the top six late-night programs, ad revenue is down more than 50 percent since 2014, and more than 60 percent from a peak in 2016.

Last year, "Tonight Show," "Late Night, Late Show," "Late Late Show," "The Daily Show," and "Jimmy Kimmel Live" combined for $342.4 million in ad revenue.

 In 2018, "Tonight Show" generated $334 million in ad revenue alone.

Axios documented the rapid decline in a chart below:

However, the recent success of Jon Stewart’s return to "The Daily Show" suggests that late-night may still have a future. But it's incumbent upon the network to find a host who is funny and willing to include both sides of the political aisle in their bits. 

Media Research Center analyzed each of the 9,518 political jokes aired on late-night television in 2023. The watchdog found that 81% of those jokes targeted conservatives.

Of the programs, Kimmel's program had the highest rate of anti-conservative jokes -- more so than even Stephen Colbert. Some 88% of "jokes" Kimmel made last year were aimed at conservatives, including 762 jokes about Donald Trump.

He's obsessed.

By the numbers, "Jimmy Kimmel Live" is the most partisan show in late-night television.

Still, we don’t expect the Disney-run ABC to acknowledge how Kimmel’s tiresome shtick has contributed to his ratings erosion.  If ABC is to continue late-night after Kimmel, we expect them to hire someone of a similar ilk.

One name to watch is Stephen A. Smith.

Smith is already in the Disney family as a host on ESPN. Smith filled in for Kimmel two summers ago. He’s vocal about wanting to move to late night in – wait for it – two years, when his current contract also expires. 

"I am interested in doing late night," Stephen A. told Sean Hannity on Fox News last year. "I would love to be the heir apparent to Jimmy Kimmel. I believe I could do it.

"I would throw everybody for a loop, my politics would throw people off because I’d be fair to everybody and I’d listen to everybody. It wouldn’t be one-sided, I’m not a one-sided kind of guy. I’m one-sided on issues, I’m not one-sided on ideology."

Though I’m skeptical Smith is funny enough to perform comedic acts, he checks off the boxes ABC likely seeks.

Disney will prioritize diversity after Kimmel, in response to the widespread media criticism that late-night is too white and male. 

Smith is diverse.

He’s also a big name who moves the needle and generates television viewership. 

Sources tell OutKick that Stephen A. would ideally like to host late-night on ABC and continue co-hosting "NBA Countdown," an ESPN production that airs on ABC.

Smith has repeatedly said on his podcast he would happily turn over "First Take" to Shannon Sharpe in the coming years.

And, honestly, Jimmy Kimmel hasn’t been all that funny since 2016. So, the bar is not that high.