Is This The End of Jimmy Kimmel? (And, Sarah Silverman's Show Got Re-Upped: Happy Valentine's Day)



(image via amymiles)

Wow. On this Valentine's Day Jimmy Kimmel is probably as worried about his job as Sarah Silverman is at present rejoicing over the security of hers. Even as Sarah Silverman enjoys the best times in her comedic career ("The Sarah Silverman Program" got re-upped), her boyfriend, Jimmy Kimmel, unfortunately, may be in danger of losing his late-night network gig. According to Rebecca Dana, who know a bit about losing a high-profile gig (*allegedly*), in the salmon-colored weekly:

"On the afternoon of Feb. 9, the cast and crew of ABC News’ Nightline convened quietly in the network’s Times Square studio to shoot two secret pilots of an hour-long version of the half-hour 11:30 p.m. news show, according to three sources familiar with the project.

"The test versions were prepared for ABC and Disney executives, who will consider whether to further develop an expanded version of the show. Nightline has done hour-long episodes in the past, as when its founding host, Ted Koppel, conducted celebrated news-breaking panels in Israel and South Africa, but the show has never owned an entire hour of regular late-night real estate."

One reason may have been that Ted Koppel's horrendous hairpiece demanded extra hazard pay. But -- back to TheObserver:

"In its current incarnation, the show has three hosts: Cynthia McFadden, Martin Bashir and Terry Moran. One of the pilots featured Ms. McFadden as the solo anchor of the broadcast. In the other, Mr. Bashir joined her behind the anchor desk.

"Mr. Moran’s absence from the project may be explained by the fact that he lives in Washington, D.C.

"Disney executives in Burbank, Calif., gave permission for the pilots in January. Nightline executive producer James Goldston relayed the news in a Jan. 18 conference call with his staff.

"Were ABC to pick up the longer version, the extra time would fill the slot currently held by Jimmy Kimmel Live, the network’s underperforming answer to David Letterman and Jay Leno’s talk shows on CBS and NBC. According to Nielsen, Mr. Leno averages about 6.1 million viewers a night, Mr. Letterman 3.9 million, and Mr. Kimmel—confined to a later, less-attractive half-hour—1.8 million.

"Nightline averages some 3.5 million viewers and actually beat Mr. Letterman’s Late Show on a handful of momentous nights this past summer and fall. But the talk shows, which charge a premium for commercials, are far more profitable enterprises."

Further down in Rebecca Dana's interesting piece, this part doesn't help Kimmel's cause, "Two sources said that Mr. Goldston described Mr. Kimmel’s show as losing 'buckets of money' during the conference call."

(Observer)

From TVNewser: "Update: 3:33pm: ABC execs are pushing back hard against the notion that the project was initiated by the network. 'This was not a mandate from the West Coast,' an insider says..."