Jimmy Kimmel told viewers that his interview with James Talarico, the Texas Democratic Senate candidate, will not be shown on ABC's late-night broadcast and will instead be released exclusively on YouTube, a decision he attributed to pressure from the Federal Communications Commission.
The announcement came during Wednesday's episode of «Jimmy Kimmel Live,» one day before the interview had been scheduled to air on television. Kimmel framed the move as a departure from more than two decades of practice on the show, saying he had been interviewing guests on air for the whole of its run.
The shift marks the second time this year that a late-night program has moved Talarico off a broadcast network. In February, Stephen Colbert said CBS lawyers told him the Texas Democrat could not appear on the broadcast of «Late Night,» and the interview was instead directed to YouTube. Colbert tied that decision to new guidance from FCC Chair Brendan Carr.
Talarico, a Texas state representative, is running for the U.S. Senate as the Democratic candidate in Texas. His campaign has drawn national attention, and his appearances on entertainment programs have become part of a broader political fight over how candidates reach voters outside traditional news settings.
The FCC's posture toward broadcasters has become a recurring theme in late-night television this year. Kimmel's disclosure follows a pattern in which hosts have publicly described pressure from the agency as a factor in programming decisions, turning what would ordinarily be a routine booking into a test of how much political content broadcast networks are willing to carry.
By moving the Talarico interview to YouTube, Kimmel keeps the conversation available to audiences while avoiding the over-the-air broadcast that would have carried it on ABC. The approach mirrors what happened with Colbert earlier in the year, when a scheduled television appearance was converted into an online release.
The decision also underscores the growing role of digital platforms as an alternative distribution channel for interviews that broadcasters decline to air. For a Senate candidate in a closely watched race, a YouTube release can still reach a large audience, but it does so without the reach and imprimatur of a network late-night slot.
Neither ABC nor the FCC has issued a public statement on the specific decision to move the Talarico interview off the broadcast. Kimmel's remarks on Wednesday's show represent his own account of why the segment was relocated.
The interview is expected to be posted on the show's YouTube channel, where late-night clips routinely circulate. Its release will be watched closely as an indicator of how broadcasters and their hosts are navigating the current regulatory environment, and as a measure of how political bookings are handled on network television.
For Talarico, the episode adds another chapter to a campaign season in which his television appearances have repeatedly become the subject of behind-the-scenes decisions. For Kimmel, it is a public acknowledgment that the boundaries of his broadcast have shifted, at least for this interview.