Culture 3 min read By Lauren Baxter
Dana Walden Says Jimmy Kimmel Deal Still in the Works as Disney Faces Layoffs
Disney President Dana Walden addressed the future of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the box office performance of the live-action Moana, and the company's recent layoffs during a Thursday appearance at Bloomberg's Screentime conference.
Disney President and Chief Creative Officer Dana Walden said she is working to keep Jimmy Kimmel on ABC, calling late-night television a difficult business even as the host's ratings rise. Walden made the comments during a Thursday morning conversation at Bloomberg's Screentime conference, where she addressed the future of the network's flagship late-night franchise.
«It's a very challenging daypart, late-night,» Walden said. «That's not to say that Jimmy is not doing a phenomenal job, and his ratings are up.» Her remarks come as Kimmel's contract is set to expire in May, with talks on a renewal already underway. Kimmel has had a busy year after ABC briefly pulled his show off the air last September, an incident that turned him into a free-speech cause célèbre and raised his public profile.
Walden also used the appearance to address the layoffs that have swept through Disney this year. The company is just emerging from a voluntary retirement program, and earlier in the week it cut additional staff. «It is extremely painful,» Walden said of the reductions. She pointed to broader industry pressures, suggesting that technology companies have set their sights on the entertainment business, a dynamic that has forced traditional studios to restructure.
The executive's comments on the live-action remake of Moana also drew attention. Walden acknowledged that the film struggled at the box office, a rare stumble for Disney's strategy of reimagining its animated classics with human actors. The original Moana, released in 2016, was a critical and commercial success, and expectations for the live-action version were high. Its underperformance raises questions about whether audience appetite for the remake formula is cooling.
Late-night television has been under pressure across the board as linear ratings decline and younger viewers migrate to streaming and social platforms. Kimmel's show remains one of ABC's most recognizable brands, and his renewed visibility after the suspension has made him a more prominent cultural figure. Walden's willingness to discuss the negotiations publicly signals that Disney sees value in keeping him, even as the economics of the daypart remain tough.
The layoffs at Disney reflect a wider contraction in media, where companies are cutting costs to fund streaming investments and adjust to changing viewing habits. Walden's remarks at the conference offered a rare window into how a top creative executive is navigating those tensions while managing talent relationships and a slate of high-profile releases.
Kimmel's future at ABC is not the only late-night question facing the network, but it is the most closely watched. His contract expiration in May gives both sides a clear deadline. For now, Walden's message is that the conversation is active and that Kimmel's performance is not the problem. The challenge, as she framed it, is the broader health of late-night as a business.
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