Another major TV company says it won’t air the return of Jimmy Kimmel’s show on its more than two dozen ABC stations.
Nexstar Media Group, one of the nation’s largest local TV station owners, said it will continue to air other programming in place of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on its ABC affiliates ahead of the show’s return on Tuesday night.
“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,” Nexstar said in a statement Tuesday. “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.”
In the meantime, Nexstar said its stations “will focus on continuing to produce local news and other programming relevant to their respective markets.” It noted that Kimmel’s show is still available on streaming.
Sinclair Broadcasting Group already announced that it would also continue to preempt Kimmel’s show, meaning that roughly 25% of ABC stations will not show the late-night host’s return. Among the affected areas are Washington, DC, where Sinclair owns WJLA, and New Orleans, where Nexstar owns WGNO.
Disney said on Monday that Kimmel would return after it had suspended production “to avoid further inflaming a tense situation.”
“Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country. It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive,” Disney said in a statement on Monday. “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.”
Nexstar has been a focal point throughout the entire Kimmel saga. Already a behemoth, the station group has a $6.2 billion merger pending with rival Tegna, which would cement Nexstar’s dominant position. The FCC, where Trump appointees hold the majority, has yet to approve that merger.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, a Trump appointee, publicly thanked Nexstar “for doing the right thing” after its initial decision to preempt Kimmel’s show, which the company announced before ABC’s sweeping suspension. During an appearance on a podcast, Carr said that Kimmel’s comments about Charlie Kirk’s killing appeared to be “some of the sickest conduct possible.”
Nexstar has said that it acted independently. At the time, Carr threatened to review local TV licenses, which the FCC controls.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said on a podcast hosted by conservative influencer Benny Johnson. “These companies can find ways to change conduct and take actions on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
Sinclair, the largest owner of local ABC affiliates, has said that it will preempt Kimmel’s show with news programming. Sinclair previously said that it would not lift its own suspension of Kimmel until “formal” discussions are held with ABC. It also called on the comedian to make a personal apology to Kirk’s family and “a meaningful personal donation to the Kirk family and TurningPoint USA.”
On Tuesday, Carr said that Democrats “are engaged in nothing more than Projection and Distortion.” He also praised the saga as an example of how local broadcasters can reassert their power.
“This is the first time recently that any local TV stations have pushed back on a national programmer like Disney,” Carr wrote on X. “And that is a good thing because we want empowered local TV stations.”
Local stations have refused to air national programming before. In 1997, an ABC affiliate in Birmingham, Alabama, refused to air a now-famous “Ellen” episode when star Ellen DeGeneres’ character came out as gay. Unlike then, national networks have their own streaming platforms — meaning that viewers in the affected areas will still have other ways to watch Kimmel’s show.
Kimmel has yet to address his suspension and return, though he is expected to do so during his first show back.
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