Jimmy Kimmel has inspired an unlikely corporate messaging shift at PBS—and it’s definitely not Sesame Street-approved.
Thursday saw the public broadcaster’s social media accounts share a screenshot from Jimmy Kimmel Live! that featured the PBS logo alongside the slogan “We’re still here, bitch.”
The slogan was born as part of a bit in Kimmel’s Wednesday night monologue that referenced recent online confusion following a vote by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to dissolve itself after the Republican-led Congress eliminated its federal funding. The move led some social media posters to mistakenly claim that PBS itself was shutting down, despite the network remaining on the air.
As Kimmel noted on the air, PBS’s social media team has been responding to posts declaring the broadcaster defunct with comments like “Hey, uh, so actually, we’re still here.”
Kimmel capped the bit with a mock promo that ran through a roll call of PBS staples—Masterpiece Theater, Sesame Street, PBS NewsHour, Austin City Limits, Ken Burns documentaries, Antiques Roadshow and Finding Your Roots—before landing on its punchline: “PBS. Check your local listings. We’re still here, bitch.”
PBS appeared happy to take ownership of the line, captioning its screenshot, “Shout out to @jimmykimmel for our new tote bag design.”
While the Corporation for Public Broadcasting has historically played a key role in distributing federal funding to public media, PBS operates as a separate nonprofit supported by its member stations, corporate underwriting, foundation support and viewer donations, which is where those tote bags come into play.
Watch Kimmel’s complete PBS bit below:
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