Jimmy Kimmel Youtube: Jimmy Kimmel moves James Talarico interview from ABC to YouTube
The Jimmy Kimmel YouTube channel will carry an interview with Texas Senate candidate James Talarico instead of ABC’s broadcast of Jimmy Kimmel Live!. Kimmel announced the change on Wednesday, but available reporting does not establish that the interview has already been posted as of Sept. 11.
Jimmy Kimmel moves James Talarico interview from ABC to YouTube
Talarico, a Democratic Texas state representative from the Austin area, was scheduled to appear on Thursday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! as he campaigns for the U.S. Senate. Kimmel said the conversation would not air on ABC and would instead be released in full on the show’s YouTube channel. TheWrap reported that Kimmel described the arrangement as an unusual circumstance and said the broadcast decision was made out of consideration for ABC affiliates, particularly those in Texas.
The stated concern involves federal broadcast requirements for political candidates. Kimmel said airing Talarico’s interview on ABC could create obligations to provide comparable airtime to his Republican Senate opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The interview can be posted online instead; KERA reported that the Federal Communications Commission’s broadcast rules do not apply to the YouTube release in the same way. KERA
Kimmel connected the decision to ABC’s continuing dispute with the FCC. In his Wednesday monologue, he said the agency had threatened him, the program, ABC, its affiliates and local stations over guest-booking decisions. Those statements are Kimmel’s characterization of the dispute, rather than an independent finding that the agency prohibited the interview from airing.
Why the interview became a broadcast issue
The FCC’s equal-time rules are central to the explanation reported by KERA and The Hollywood Reporter. The reports say ABC’s concerns center on whether giving one Senate candidate airtime on a broadcast program could require similar access for the opposing candidate.
The dispute comes while ABC and Disney are challenging FCC actions involving the network’s broadcast licenses. KERA reported that the commission ordered an early review of the licenses for eight ABC-owned television stations in April, including an ABC station in Houston. ABC and Disney sued the FCC in August, arguing that the agency was retaliating against the companies over programming and news coverage, including Jimmy Kimmel Live! KERA
The reports also describe an earlier confrontation involving Kimmel. ABC temporarily removed his program from the air in September 2025 after comments about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. KERA said FCC Chair Brendan Carr had publicly criticized the remarks and raised the possibility of regulatory consequences; ABC returned the program less than a week later.
The FCC and Talarico’s campaign had not immediately responded to requests for comment, according to KERA. Carr has rejected the description of the agency’s actions as retaliation, saying the FCC had not decided whether to renew the stations’ licenses and would continue to follow the facts and the law. KERA
A similar interview was moved online earlier this year
The Kimmel decision follows a comparable episode involving Stephen Colbert. In February, The Late Show interview with Talarico was posted to YouTube rather than broadcast on CBS after the network’s lawyers prevented it from airing, according to Variety. That video later received more than 9.5 million views, KERA reported.
The available reports establish that Kimmel’s Talarico interview was redirected from ABC to the show’s YouTube channel. They do not establish the interview’s release time, its final YouTube link or whether it had been published by Sept. 11.