Jimmy Kimmel says his interview with Texas Senate candidate James Talarico won't air on ABC after all — he's moving it to YouTube instead, citing what he calls FCC threats against his show and network.
Why it matters: Fox News reports the move adds a fresh flashpoint to an escalating fight between the Trump administration's FCC and broadcast networks over editorial control, coming weeks after ABC's parent Disney sued the agency alleging a "retaliatory campaign."
Driving the news:
Kimmel announced Wednesday night that Thursday's interview with Talarico "will not air on television" and will instead post to the "Jimmy Kimmel Live" YouTube channel, saying the FCC "has threatened me, threatened our show, threatened our network, ABC, our affiliates, our local stations," per Fox News.
Talarico is the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Texas, running against Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton in what Fox News describes as a close race.
Disney/ABC sued the FCC in August, alleging the agency has run a "retaliatory campaign against ABC for a single reason: it disapproves of what ABC broadcasts," according to the Epoch Times.
Kimmel said he made the switch "out of consideration for our local stations, especially our ABC affiliates in Texas," per Fox News — and noted a similar dispute played out around a Talarico interview with Stephen Colbert back in February.
What they're saying: Kimmel: "His FCC has threatened me, threatened our show, threatened our network, ABC, our affiliates," and "It will be posted on YouTube instead. It will not be on TV," per Fox News.
The other side: The FCC did not publicly respond to Kimmel's claims, according to the Epoch Times. FCC Chair Brendan Carr has argued broadcasters must operate in the public interest — the standard the agency has invoked in past clashes with ABC over its programming decisions.
What's next:
ABC's lawsuit against the FCC, filed in August, remains pending, per the Epoch Times.
Kimmel used the moment to push voter registration, telling viewers, "Make sure you register to vote ... that's the most important thing you can do," per Fox News.
The bottom line: A late-night interview getting bumped to YouTube is a small thing on its own, but it's the latest sign that broadcast networks see federal regulatory pressure as a real threat to editorial independence heading into the midterms — and with ABC's lawsuit against the FCC still pending, the underlying fight over control of the airwaves is far from settled.
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