Sen. Elizabeth Warren accused Nexstar and Sinclair of potentially “running afoul of anti-corruption law” in their continued preemption of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” as the late-night program returns to ABC on Tuesday.
Joining Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) in an open letter addressed to Nexstar Media Group chairman Perry A. Sook and Sinclair Broadcast Group president and CEO Christopher S. Ripley on Tuesday, Warren lambasted the decision to not air Kimmel’s return amid Nexstar’s pending mega-merger with competing broadcast group Tegna and other outstanding acquisitions from Sinclair, the nation’s second-largest broadcaster.
“If you suspended a late-night comedian’s show in part to seek regulatory favors from the administration, you have not only assisted the administration in eroding First Amendment freedoms but also create the appearance of a possible quid-pro-quo arrangement that could implicate federal anti-corruption laws,” the letter reads of the companies’ relationship with the Federal Communications Commission and its President Donald Trump-allied chair, Brendan Carr.
The senators demanded further transparency around the broadcast companies’ decision to preempt “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” despite ABC bringing the host back on air.
In a separate statement of her own, Warren said, simply, “This censorship of Kimmel reeks of corruption.”
“Nexstar, the largest TV broadcaster, needs Donald Trump’s approval for a $6 billion deal,” Warren said of the Tegna merger. “If approved, Nexstar would control TV stations reaching 80% of households — violating the cap set by Congress to protect against monopolies. Sinclair, the nation’s second-largest broadcaster, is similarly waiting on Donald Trump’s approval for a broadcast deal and is planning even larger upcoming deals.”
In their joint letter, the senators also broke down the outstanding telecommunications deals requiring FCC approval — and in the case of Nexstar-Tegna, an exception. They also painted FCC chair Carr as an advocate for punishing Kimmel over comments he made about Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin in his Sept. 15 monologue. After Nexstar’s decision to keep Kimmel’s show off their stations on Wednesday, for instance, Carr tweeted, “I want to thank Nexstar for doing the right thing.”
Carr similarly applauded Nexstar and Sinclair’s decision to keep Kimmel off their stations on Tuesday, writing again on social media: “Notably, this is the first time recently that any local TV stations have pushed back on a national programmer like Disney. And that is a good thing because we want empowered local TV stations.”
Ahead of Kimmel’s Sept. 17 suspension from ABC, Carr called on the network to punish the host for his Monday monologue that questioned the “MAGA gang” response to alleged shooter Tyler Robinson’s political affiliations. Carr’s comments were followed by Nexstar’s decision to preempt the late-night program before ABC pulled “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” off the air for the next five days.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said at the time, suggesting that the government had “remedies” if the network did not act. Those comments quickly sparked criticism from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers.
ABC announced Monday that “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” would be back on air Tuesday after nearly a week of protests and proposed boycotts against the network and Disney.
Read the senators’ Tuesday letter to Sinclair and Nexstar leaders in full, here.
Kimmel is back, but many Americans won’t be able to watch.
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) September 23, 2025
Two companies — Nexstar and Sinclair — control hundreds of local TV stations and have business deals pending Donald Trump’s approval.
They won’t air Kimmel tonight.
I’m pressing for answers on potential corruption. pic.twitter.com/cjLsg9mHLi
