While “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” will return to ABC on Tuesday, the late night show won’t be returning to Sinclair’s ABC affiliates as the broadcaster will replace the show with news programming as discussions with ABC continue.
“Beginning Tuesday night, Sinclair will be preempting ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ across our ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming,” a Sinclair spokesperson told TheWrap. “Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return.”
Sinclair Broadcasting owns, operates or provides services to 178 television stations in 81 markets, including 30 ABC affiliate stations. The company pulled “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” from its airwaves on Wednesday over remarks the late night host made about Charlie Kirk’s assassin, which Sinclair called “inappropriate and deeply insensitive at a critical moment for our country.”
“We believe broadcasters have a responsibility to educate and elevate respectful, constructive dialogue in our communities,” Sinclair vice chairman Jason Smith said at the time. “This incident highlights the critical need for the FCC to take immediate regulatory action to address control held over local broadcasters by the big national networks.”
Though ABC later suspended Kimmel indefinitely, Sinclair argued that the suspension was “not enough” and demanded that he 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.”
Additionally, Sinclair said that it would air a Charlie Kirk remembrance special on Friday in Kimmel’s usual time slot. However, it later decided to put the special on “The National News Desk” YouTube channel and continued to air ABC programming.
In a statement on Monday, Disney said it pulled Kimmel to “avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country,” adding that some of his comments were “ill-timed and thus insensitive.”
“We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday,” the company added.
Sinclair’s decision to pull Kimmel followed a warning from Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr that the agency would take action against Kimmel 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 the network did not act. Those comments have since sparked criticism from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers.
It also comes as the company is exploring M&A opportunities for its broadcast business, which would require FCC approval, and pushing the agency to lift the 39% cap on broadcast TV station ownership. Carr has called the cap “arcane” and “artificial” and opened up the matter for public comment. The agency’s review will be discussed during the FCC’s open committee meeting next week.
In addition to Sinclair, Nexstar Media Group – which is seeking FCC approval of its pending $6.2 billion merger with rival Tegna, has pulled Kimmel indefinitely from its 23 ABC affiliate stations and nine other partner stations.
The company, which has a total of more than 200 owned or partner stations in 116 U.S. markets reaching 220 million people, has denied that the FCC pressured its decision and declined to comment on Kimmel’s reinstatement.
Sinclair stock finished Monday’s trading session up 0.7% at $14.23 per share, while Nexstar was down 3.2% at $202.25 per share. Disney stock fell 1.03% on Monday, ending the session at $112.56 apiece.
