In the hours after ABC benched “ Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and both the Sinclair and Nexstar affiliate groups said they would put the show on indefinite hiatus, Kimmel thought the show might be over for good. He figured that might be a real possibility after Sinclair shared a list of demands (including an apology) from Kimmel before it would reinstate his show.

“Tthe idea that I would not have 40 affiliates, I was like, ‘Well, that’s it.’ Because there seemed to be a list of demands presented to me and I was not going to go along with any of them,” he told the audience Wednesday at the Bloomberg Screentime event in Hollywood. “So it’s was like, ‘well, I guess we’re done.’ I said to my wife, ‘that’s it. It’s over.'”

Ultimately, Kimmel returned to air — and he believes his return to TV after a

See Full Page