Jimmy Kimmel to return to ABC Tuesday night (updated)
Sinclair and Nexstar stand their ground; they won’t air show
[Editor’s Note: This post was updated at 8:45 p.m. on September 22 and at 1:30 p.m. on September 23.]
Disney-owned ABC announced Monday it is returning Jimmy Kimmel Live to its regular late-night time slot on Tuesday night, after the network forced him to sit out a week due to comments he made about Charlie Kirk’s killer last week. His comments drew ire from conservatives and from FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, who threatened to revoke licenses of ABC stations. His response prompted the nation’s two largest station groups (Nexstar and Sinclair) to pull his show off the air temporarily.
The move came after “thoughtful conversations” between Disney and Kimmel, as the decision to return Kimmel to the air was made by Disney CEO Bob Iger and Disney Entertainment co-chair Dana Walden, who each suspended Kimmel last week. ABC had been airing reruns of Celebrity Family Feud in the interim.
“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,” Disney said in a statement today. “It is a decision we made because we felt some of the 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.”
Since the suspension, the public came out in support of Kimmel, including rival talk show hosts, Hollywood stars, the WGA, SAG-AFTRA, SiriusXM talk show host Howard Stern (who went through this himself when he was on terrestrial radio), and others. Many viewers canceled their Disney+ and Hulu subscriptions in protest. Others encouraged a boycott of Disney, Nexstar, and Sinclair, including Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, while Disney’s stock has dropped seven percent since last week. Nexstar – which owns 197 TV stations (including WGN-TV and WGN Radio) – has a deal pending with the FCC regarding its purchase of Tegna, as Nexstar denied it was trying to curry favor with the FCC by benching Kimmel.
Carr has also come under fire from various quarters for government overreach, including from both sides of the political aisle. However, President Trump celebrated the news of Kimmel’s alleged cancellation on social media.
Sinclair said it wouldn’t air the show unless Kimmel apologized to Kirk’s family and made a contribution to Turning Point USA, the organization he founded. Sinclair had planned to air a tribute to Kirk Friday night after their station’s late newscasts, but pulled the plug at the very last minute and decided to post it on YouTube instead.
Sinclair retained that stance Monday: “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,”, a spokesperson said.
Nexstar followed on Tuesday, essentially relying the same message: “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.” 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, we note that Jimmy Kimmel Live! will be available nationwide on multiple Disney-owned streaming products, while our stations will focus on continuing to produce local news and other programming relevant to their respective markets.”
Viewers in the affected markets can still watch the show the next day on Hulu. However, the defections of Sinclair and Nexstar could affect national advertising revenue for the show, given that both own a large number of ABC affiliates, especially in major markets. Sinclair owns WJLA Washington, D.C., KOMO Seattle, KATU Portland, Ore., and KDNL St. Louis, while Nexstar owns WGNO New Orleans and KTVX Salt Lake City. Sinclair’s ABC stations covers 13.6 of the country while Nexstar’s covers 8.6 percent.
Notably, Kimmel’s contract with Disney is set to expire next year, and it remains to be seen how this will impact any potential contract negotiations between him and Disney, as the 57-year-old host has hinted in the past that he may be looking to retire.