Kimmel Pulls Senate Candidate Interview From TV Over FCC Pressure

Jimmy Kimmel says his interview with a Democratic Senate candidate won't air on ABC TV due to government scrutiny — it'll go to YouTube instead.

Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel is making an unusual move: he's pulling a political interview off national TV to avoid trouble with government regulators.

Kimmel, whose show airs on ABC (a television network owned by Disney, one of the world's largest entertainment companies), announced that his interview with Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico would not be broadcast on TV. Instead, it will appear on YouTube.

The reason? Pressure from the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) — a U.S. government agency that regulates television and radio broadcasts. Kimmel says the FCC has "threatened" his show, his network, and the local stations that carry it.

Here are the key facts:

The interview airs on YouTube on Thursday, not on ABC.
Talarico is running for Senate in Texas against Attorney General Ken Paxton, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump.
Polls show Talarico slightly ahead of Paxton.
Paxton was impeached (formally accused of misconduct) by the Texas House over corruption claims, but was later cleared.

Why is the FCC involved? In January, the agency questioned whether TV talk shows count as real "news programs." This matters because news shows are exempt from equal airtime rules — laws requiring stations to give competing political candidates equal opportunity to appear. If Kimmel's show isn't "news," airing one candidate could force the station to offer time to rivals.

This isn't Kimmel's first clash. Last year, his show was suspended for about a week after controversial comments. Since then, tensions have grown:

In April, the FCC began an early review of Disney's broadcast licenses.
In August, ABC sued the FCC, calling its investigation a "retaliatory campaign" that violates free speech (First Amendment) rights.

The bottom line: This is a high-stakes fight over free speech, government power, and who controls what airs on TV. For Disney, ongoing regulatory battles could create legal costs and uncertainty for its media business.

This is an AI-generated summary. Read the original article at: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/10/abc-kimmel-talarico-fcc.html