Owners of dozens of US TV stations say they will keep Jimmy Kimmel live! Despite Disney unveiling a late-night comedian show, they will be back from their airwaves and returning from the daytime shutdown on Tuesday.
Nexstar Media Group, which operates 28 stations with Disney-owned ABC across the United States, said it would pre-empt the Jimmy Kimmel show on Tuesday, saying the program will be “available nationwide on multiple Disney-owned streaming products.”
“Last week we decided to take the lead on Jimmy Kimmel Live! At a critical time in our national discourse, following what Kimmel calls “not worsening, insensitive” comments,” the Nexter statement said.
“We support that pending decision that all parties are committed to promoting an environment of constructive dialogue that we will respectfully present in the markets we serve.”
The statement comes after Sinclair Broadcast Group, which owns 38 other ABC affiliates, said on Monday it would preempt Jimmy Kimmel Live! With its own station, we replaced the show with news programming.
“As we evaluate the show's potential returns, discussions with ABC are ongoing,” the company said in a statement.
ABC, which suspended Kimmel's show over his comments on his comments about the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, announced on Monday that Kimmel's show will return after having a “thoughtful conversation” with the host.
Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan is set to appear in Kimmel's first showback. The public relations officers for both the musician and her Hul dispersed Lilith Fair documentary confirmed.
Disney also announced Tuesday that it will increase subscription costs for US streaming platforms Disney+ and Hulu by $2-$7 a month. They did not announce a similar price increase in Canada.
Several consumers have said on social media that they have cancelled their Disney streaming subscriptions in the wake of Kimmel's suspension.
The suspension comes hours after Nexstar said it would preempt the show due to Kimmel's “aggressive and insensitive” remarks in the opening monologue of the September 15th broadcast.
Sinclair said he would return the suit and only Jimmy Kimmel Live! The affiliate broadcasts after Kimmel apologized to Kirk's family and made a “meaningful personal donation” to Kirk's organization Turning Point USA.
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Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet posted on X, “It's no surprise that Disney and ABC's Caving and Kimmel will be brought back into the air, but it's their mistake.” He later praised Sinclair for supporting Kimmel's decision to block the show, saying that the affiliate “has all the rights to demand accountability” from the comedian who called him an “unrepentant liar.”
Kimmel has yet to work on his show's suspension or return.
The announcement of Nexstar and Sinclair last week came after Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr said on a podcast last Wednesday that Kimmel was “trying to mislead the American people directly,” suggesting that the FCC could take action.
“We can do this in an easy or difficult way,” Kerr said. “These companies can find ways to change their behavior, frankly, to take action in Kimmel. Otherwise, there will be additional work beyond the FCC.”
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These comments sparked backlash, saying that Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, from Texas, acted like a “mafios.” Hundreds of entertainment celebrities, including Tom Hanks, Barbra Streisand and Jennifer Aniston, have signed a letter circulated by the American Civil Liberties Union, which called the ABC move “a dark moment for free speech in our country.”
However, since Kimmel's suspension, Kerr has framed the situation as an organic uprising of local affiliates against national media companies to control the content they air.
“In particular, this is the first time that local TV stations have recently pushed back programmers from across the country like Disney,” he wrote to X on Tuesday. “And that's good because we want a local TV station that is empowered. After all, local TV stations should have a public interest obligation, not a national programmer, and in their view, they should make the decision to meet the needs of the community.”
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Kerr also denounced Democrats and critics who said he put pressure on the government to limit Kimmel's “distortion” and “predictions.”
“Jimmy Kimmel is in a situation where he is there because of his assessment, not what happened at the federal level,” Kerr said in a conversation at the Concordia Summit in New York on Monday before announcing Kimmel's return.
Nexstar owns or partners over 200 stations in 116 US markets, and owns nearly a third of the CW and News Nation broadcast networks, as well as the political websites The Hill and Food Network. The ABC stations operate in cities including Nashville, Salt Lake City in New Orleans, and small markets such as Evansville, Indiana, and Binghamton, New York.
Last month it announced a $6.2 billion deal to buy Tegna Inc., which owns 64 other television stations.
This transaction requires that the FCC change the rules that limit the number of stations that a single company can own. Carr has expressed openness to changes in rules.
Sinclair owns, operates or provides services to 178 television stations in 81 markets belonging to all major broadcast networks. Its ABC affiliates include stations in Washington, DC, Portland, Oregon, Chattanooga, Tennessee, and other cities.
The company also petitioned the FCC to relax rules restricting broadcasting station ownership.
Meanwhile, Disney needs approval from the Trump administration in the ESPN division to complete its acquisition of the NFL network.
Using files from the Associated Press
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