<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The decision to yank Jimmy Kimmel's show off the air wasn't quite as rash as one might think.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The issue had been brewing all week throughout the executive ranks at Disney and ABC — ever since Kimmel made comments during his Monday night monologue about Charlie Kirk's suspected killer and, as he called Trump's supporters, the "MAGA gang".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Kimmel's remarks on Monday attracted ire from the critics on the right, which put it on Disney's radar.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/jimmy-kimmel-update-late-night-talk-show-suspended-indefinitely/17a54932-180a-491a-b4db-d2defaf7ca63" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Jimmy Kimmel spotted at lawyer's office as Trump calls for more cancellations</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>On Tuesday's show, Kimmel doubled down, saying, "Many in MAGA-land are working very hard to capitalise on the murder of Charlie Kirk."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But it wasn't until Wednesday afternoon, after FCC chair Brendan Carr went onto a conservative podcast and threatened to pull ABC affiliate broadcast licenses, that the matter really escalated.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Then Nexstar — the station group which airs "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" in approximately two dozen markets — announced they would not air the show.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/jimmy-kimmel-show-yanked-what-happened-behind-the-scenes-that-led-to-suspension/0953a991-a292-438b-8a62-34c5314325f0" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Carr publicly stating that Disney was at risk of losing its local broadcast licenses was a "real, serious threat" for all of ABC, a source familiar with the situation told CNN.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This isn't just about 'Jimmy Kimmel Live.' It's about all of ABC and all of the shows and all employees," another source privy to ongoing conversations at the company said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A veteran television news producer — who is not employed by ABC — told CNN, "There is no more terrifying circumstance for a broadcast entity than the threat of an FCC fine, or worse, that the agency could move to revoke the stations' broadcast licenses."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/donald-trump-doubles-down-on-jimmy-kimmel-cancellation-claims-bad-ratings/04bffe48-60ec-4118-8152-b462838705a7" rel="" target="_blank" title="'Free speech or not': Trump redoubles attack after Kimmel query"><strong><span>'Free speech or not': Trump redoubles attack after Kimmel query</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>According to one of the individuals familiar with the situation, Kimmel was prepared to deliver his monologue on his show on Wednesday night and planned to address the right-wing backlash to his remarks made earlier in the week regarding the politicisation of Kirk's killing.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>This individual describes Kimmel's planned monologue as "very hot", taking aim at the MAGA base.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It was then that Disney executives had conversations with Kimmel about "taking down the temperature" of his monologue, according to the individual.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Nexstar announced its plan to pull Kimmel's show at the same time.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>That's when Disney CEO Bob Iger and Disney Entertainment Co-chairman Dana Walden made the decision to preempt the show indefinitely — in hopes of protecting Kimmel and the Disney brand from escalating the controversy.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Walden called Kimmel to have a conversation about how to move forward, one source said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/search-to-resume-for-missing-pilot-after-nsw-light-plane-crash/690b45ca-41bc-48cf-8771-82626dc560b6" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Plane found downed in rough and remote terrain but pilot still missing</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Walden and Kimmel have a longstanding, positive relationship, and Kimmel has always been incredibly well-regarded within ABC, according to numerous sources.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Everyone deeply values him and wants him to come back," one source familiar said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"But he has to take down the temperature."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The source notes that Kimmel has always been free to speak his mind about Trump and has never been censored on his show.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But with serious FCC threats, the company had to make a business decision.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Several of the individuals who spoke to CNN said that Disney employees and staff members on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" began to receive death threats following Carr's remarks on Wednesday, with their email addresses and phone numbers being doxed and blasted across social media.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>For Disney, the issue under consideration was bigger than Kimmel: It became a safety issue for employees and the show's advertisers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/soccer-act-can-cause-brain-damage-us-study-says/d08673d7-7449-4e1b-801c-ebe94a49cb54" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Soccer move can damage brains like other contact sports, study finds</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>While no decision has been made on how to move forward, the source said Disney is "hopeful" there is path to bring Kimmel's show back.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>His contract is up at the end of his current season, taking him through May 2026.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>For years, Kimmel — who has also hosted the Oscars for ABC and just won an Emmy for hosting the network's "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" — has contended with whether to continue his show, most recently debating whether to renew his contract in 2022.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"After two decades at ABC, I am now looking forward to three years of what they call 'quiet quitting,'" Kimmel joked in a statement at the time his most recent contract extension was announced.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Kimmel has not yet spoken publicly about his show being suspended.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>CNN has reached out to Kimmel's representatives for comment.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>ABC did not respond to CNN's request for comment regarding the future of the show.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our 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