Jimmy Kimmel to Interview Senate Candidate James Talarico on YouTube Amid FCC Pressure

ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel says he will interview Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico on YouTube rather than broadcast the conversation on television, citing ongoing pressure from the Federal Communications Commission.

Talarico, a Democratic state representative from Texas, is running against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the Senate race. Kimmel announced the interview during his latest monologue.

The interview will be streamed on the Jimmy Kimmel Live YouTube channel. Kimmel said the decision was intended to avoid creating additional regulatory concerns for local broadcast stations that hold FCC licenses.

“Under unusual circumstances, I will be interviewing James Talarico tomorrow night,” Kimmel told his audience Wednesday. He noted that he has interviewed numerous political candidates throughout the show’s more than 20-year history, including Hillary Clinton, Ted Cruz and Donald Trump.

Kimmel said the media environment has changed significantly because of increased scrutiny from the Trump administration and the FCC. ABC and its parent company, Disney, have faced criticism and regulatory pressure connected to Kimmel’s program.

Why Jimmy Kimmel’s interview is moving to YouTube

Kimmel has previously said that the FCC’s actions created concerns for ABC-affiliated stations. Disney also briefly suspended his show after FCC Chairman Brendan Carr threatened to pursue action against an ABC station license over allegations of “news distortion.”

The FCC later ordered accelerated license reviews for all eight ABC-owned television stations. The move followed public criticism from President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump over jokes made by Kimmel.

The commission said it had closed a separate review involving allegations that ABC’s diversity, equity and inclusion practices violated anti-discrimination rules. Against that backdrop, Kimmel’s decision to stream the Talarico interview exclusively online highlights the growing political and regulatory tension surrounding broadcast television.