ABC is shaking things up --
Jimmy Kimmel may be making a move.
ABC’s television entertainment division has held discussions about moving late-night comedy star Kimmel to the 11:35 EST time period now occupied by the ABC News program Nightline to compete directly with Conan O'Brien, the incoming host of NBC’s powerhouse The Tonight Show, reports the New York Times.
ABC executives denied knowledge of any plan to make a late-night change, saying that no such action was being pursued. Anne Sweeney, the president of the Disney-ABC Television Group, said that any such conversations were speculative.
People with knowledge of meetings said that the move of Kimmel, whose show, Jimmy Kimmel Live begins at 12:05 a.m., was discussed at some length, as was the possibility of making the move as soon as later this year.
ABC News has been zealous in trying to protect Nightline, a late-night news program that no other network news division offers, reports the NYT.
Stephen McPherson, the president of ABC Entertainment, said this month that the changes NBC has made,
Jay Leno moving to prime-time and O’Brien taking over Tonight, had opened new possibilities for Kimmel’s show.
“It’s a changing landscape, and we’re looking at everything,” Mr. McPherson told Variety.
http://www.hollywood.com/news/Jimmy_Kimmel_to_Replace_Nightline/5386911
