“Beginning Tuesday night, Sinclair will be preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live! across our ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming. Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return,” the statement reads.
Earlier today, after pushback from consumers, employees, artists, unions, and those concerned about the future of free speech in a country that censors its most mainstream comedians, Disney announced that it will “return the show on Tuesday.” Disney also said that its initial decision was “made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive.” After days of “thoughtful conversations with Jimmy,” the company reversed course. Those comments were: “The MAGA Gang [is] desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”
Kimmel’s comments set off a firestorm. Shortly after Kimmel’s show last week, FCC chair Brendan Carr said on a podcast that affiliates could “do this the easy way or the hard way” regarding broadcast licenses for affiliates that air Kimmel. Carr has since walked back those comments, which many interpreted as a threat. Though he spent the evening sending celebratory GIFs to reporters, Carr denies that his words were meant as a threat. Threat or not, his words got results because Nexstar, which is awaiting FCC approval of a $6 billion purchase of its competition, and Sinclair sprang into action to pull the comedian.
The second-largest television operator in the country, Sinclair holds 39 ABC affiliates across the country, the largest number of ABC affiliates in America. Though Disney will continue airing the show on ABC, Sinclair’s preemption means that the show won’t actually broadcast in large swaths of the country.
