Back in the summer of last year (2020), there was hype that Kimmel was on a short deal to be replaced, and then some contract extension was done to keep him around to the fall of 2022.
It would appear that they at least discussed dumping him and couldn’t find the right person to move into the slot.
Right now, if you measured late-night TV....it’s just about crapped-out. I’d go to Netflix or the cable options than watch any of the late night chatty-chat shows.
The media networks will keep individuals like Kimmel around and keep negotiating their salaries down as live broadcast television continues its decline. The networks sent a clear message when they got rid of Matt Lauer, Charlie Rose, Brian Williams, and Bill O'Reilly among others "out of contract cycle" - "We decide what to pay you. If we can get rid of the top guys, we can certainly get rid of you too."
Kimmel won't leave on his own because he has nowhere to go since he brings nothing to the table> He has to take what the network offers.
“Right now, if you measured late-night TV....it’s just about crapped-out. I’d go to Netflix or the cable options than watch any of the late night chatty-chat shows.”
My cable system has a channel that re-runs Carson at 11:00p. If I’m up, I watch that. Some real good stuff there, and it has aged pretty well.