ABC suspends Jimmy Kimmel for Charlie Kirk joke; show’s future in question
Network makes move after Nexstar, Sinclair drops show indefinitely, and comes after FCC chair threatens ABC
In a bold move, ABC has put late-night show Jimmy Kimmel Live on hiatus after FCC Chairman Brendan Carr threatened ABC and Disney after Kimmel committed on Charlie Kirk’s assassination Monday night. Kimmel mistakenly said that suspect Tyler Robinson was a Trump supporter (he wasn’t, but members of his family were) and offered a scathing comment about Trump. Kirk, a northwest suburban native of Arlington Heights and grew up in Prospect Heights, was killed last week while speaking at a rally at Utah Valley University. He founded conserative organization Turning Point USA in the northwest suburbs, and has since relocated to Phoenix.
On Wednesday, Carr all but said ABC and its owner Disney would pay dearly for Kimmel’s remarks if they didn’t address it with him. This is what he said:
That prompted Nexstar, WGN-TV’s and WGN Radio’s corporate parent, and Sinclair to drop the show indefinitely, forcing ABC’s hand.
“Nexstar’s owned and partner television stations affiliated with the ABC Television Network will preempt Jimmy Kimmel Live! for the foreseeable future beginning with tonight’s show,” said the company in a statement on Wednesday. “Nexstar strongly objects to recent comments made by Mr. Kimmel concerning the killing of Charlie Kirk and will replace the show with other programming in its ABC-affiliated markets.” Nexstar owns 28 ABC affiliates, including KTVX Salt Lake City and WGNO New Orleans, both located in heavily red states, although New Orleans proper, with a large Black population, is solidly blue.
The move was followed by Sinclair, who issued this statement from its vice president: “Mr. Kimmel’s remarks were 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. We appreciate FCC Chairman Carr’s remarks today and 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.” Another statement from Sinclair stated: “Sinclair also calls upon Mr. Kimmel to issue a direct apology to the Kirk family. Furthermore, we ask Mr. Kimmel to make a meaningful personal donation to the Kirk Family and Turning Point USA,” the statement continued. “Regardless of ABC’s plans for the future of the program, Sinclair intends not to return Jimmy Kimmel Live! to our air until we are confident that appropriate steps have been taken to uphold the standards expected of a national broadcast platform.”
Sinclair has fought with the major networks over content before. In 2004, the right-leaning broadcaster ordered its stations to pre-empt an episode of ABC’s Nightline, which featured a tribute to troops who died in The War in Iraq. Several years ago, a Las Vegas TV executive from the company defended its right-leaning news operation and complained about Kimmel’s show.
It’s no coincidence that both Nexstar and Sinclair have transactions pending at the FCC. Last month, Nexstar announced it was acquiring Tegna, which would require the FCC to eliminate the ownership cap. This week, Sinclair entered into a pact to acquire the “non-license assets” of ABC affiliate WLNE-TV as it also owns NBC affiliate WJAR-TV in Providence (Nexstar owns CBS affiliate WPRI and Fox affiliate WNAC.) Standard Media owns WLNE, the same company that partners with the Chicago Blackhawks, Bulls, and White Sox in running the Chicago Sports Network.
The decision to yank Kimmel reportedly came from Disney chief executive Bob Iger and programming head Dana Walden. ABC may bring Kimmel back “in a couple of days”, according to sources. On Wednesday night, ABC replaced Kimmel with a rerun of Celebrity Family Feud.
This comes as the future of late-night television is being questioned. In July, CBS canceled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and decided to end the franchise after 32 years. Kimmel’s contract ends next May, making his show’s return unlikely. Both shows are known for heavily skewing President Trump in each host’s monologues. Kimmel’s show is also one of only two talk show strips left in the Los Angeles area (the other is Jennifer Hudson’s daytime show.)
This move raises questions about the extent of Brendan Carr’s power, as the FCC has revoked the licenses of television stations only five times in history, as the most recent instance occurred in 1990 when Chicago’s WSNS-TV lost its appeal over claims that the station had not aired enough public affairs programming during its ON-TV subscription service days in the early 1980s. If Carr yanked the licenses of ABC’s stations, it would raise First Amendment issues, but with the network pulling Kimmel off the air, any court challenge by Disney would be unlikely. If you’re a creative person looking to pitch a project, would you want to make a stop at Disney’s door now?
If Kimmel leaves, it could signal the end of late-night television and linear TV as a whole. As more viewers turn to streaming, this boneheaded decision may send more of them toward the exits. As I said in this space before, the biggest threat to linear TV doesn’t come from streamers, it comes from these mega-cogomlerates which have grown larger and larger due to media consolidation, which broadcasters want and they know the Trump Administration is in full support of deregulation. Kowtowing to their demands, as Skydance-Paramount-CBS and ABC News did, this does not serve the “public interest,” despite what Carr claims – it’s only serving the interests of President Trump and the Republican Party, and that’s not how broadcasting works.
But Disney, Paramount, Nexstar, and Sinclair seem to think so. And that’s what we all should be worried abbout.