Nexstar Media Group is joining local TV station owner Sinclair in continuing to preempt “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” indefinitely.
“We made a decision last week to preempt ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ following what ABC referred to as Mr. Kimmel’s ‘ill-timed and insensitive’ comments at a critical time in our national discourse. We stand by that decision pending assurance that all parties are committed to fostering an environment of respectful, constructive dialogue in the markets we serve,” Nexstar said in a statement. “In the meantime, we note that ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ will be available nationwide on multiple Disney-owned streaming products, while our stations will focus on continuing to produce local news and other programming relevant to their respective markets.”
The company, which has more than 200 owned or partner stations in 116 U.S. markets reaching 220 million people, owns 23 ABC affiliate stations and partners with nine other stations.
Nexstar and Sinclair pulled Kimmel indefinitely last week following the late night host’s comments about Charlie Kirk’s assassin.
“We do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values
of the local communities in which we are located,” Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar’s broadcasting division, said in a statement at the time. “Continuing to give Mr. Kimmel a broadcast platform in the communities we serve is simply not in the public interest at the current time, and we have made the difficult decision to preempt his show in an effort to let cooler heads prevail as we move toward the resumption of respectful, constructive dialogue.”
ABC would later follow in suspending Kimmel indefinitely to “avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country,” Disney said on Monday, adding that some of his comments were “ill-timed and thus insensitive.” But after “thoughtful conversations” between Kimmel and Disney leadership, the parties found a path for the late night host to return to ABC’s airwaves Tuesday evening.
Sinclair, who owns, operates or provides services to 178 television stations in 81 markets, including 30 ABC affiliate stations, and similarly called Kimmel’s remarks “inappropriate and deeply insensitive at a critical moment for our country,” has argued that the host’s suspension was “not enough.”
It is demanding that Kimmel apologize and make a “meaningful personal donation” to the Kirk family and Turning Point USA. It also called for “formal discussions” with ABC regarding “the network’s commitment to professionalism and accountability.”
The standoff with Kimmel and Disney comes as Nexstar has entered into a deal to merge with rival Tegna for $6.2 billion, while Sinclair is exploring M&A opportunities for its broadcast business – both of which require regulatory approval from the Federal Communications Commission.
Nexstar has denied that the initial decision to pull Kimmel was influenced by FCC chairman Brendan Carr, who warned the agency could take action against him and Disney for the comments.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said, suggesting that the government had “remedies” if ABC did not act. Those comments have since sparked criticism from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers.
Nexstar and Sinclair have also been pushing the FCC to lift the 39% cap on broadcast TV station ownership, a rule Carr has called “arcane” and “artificial.” The agency’s review on the matter has been opened up for public comment and will be discussed during the FCC’s open committee meeting next week.
During Concordia’s 2025 Summit on Monday, Carr said Democrats were “completely misrepresenting” the work of the FCC and that allegations that he threatened to revoke ABC’s broadcast license if they didn’t fire Kimmel “did not happen in any way, shape or form.”
He added that he and the FCC “expressed no view” on the merits of complaints about Kimmel and that the FCC is trying to empower local TV stations to serve the needs of their local communities.
“You got national programmers, like Disney, like Comcast, like Paramount, that aren’t licensed by the FCC, that have no public interest obligation, and they provide a lot of the primetime shows that the licensed TV stations put out over the air. And what’s happened over the years is that those national programmers have exerted more and more control and pressure on the local TV stations,” he continued. “They don’t feel like they can push back on the national programmers, even when they think there’s some content that they don’t think in their judgment, not my judgment, makes sense for the local communities.”
He added that the agency wants “wide open, robust, uninhibited debate” on social media and cable, but argued broadcast TV is “just different.”
“It’s got a license. There’s a public interest standard, and Congress has called on the FCC to enforce that. And if people don’t like it, they can go to Congress and change the law, or they can turn their license in,” he concluded. “There are people that are interested in trying to create a narrative that simply, I don’t think exists.”
A spokesperson for the White House did not immediately return TheWrap’s request for comment.
