Nexstar Media Group Inc. said it would join Sinclair Inc., another large owner of ABC TV stations, in not airing Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday night.
Walt Disney Co., parent of ABC, said Kimmel would return to hosting duties after a suspension surrounding his remarks about the assassination of activist Charlie Kirk. The two station groups account for about 23% of US households.
“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,” Nexstar said Tuesday. “We stand by that decision pending assurance that all parties are committed to fostering an environment of respectful, constructive dialog in the markets we serve.”
Nexstar was the first station group to pull the show last week. The company acted following critical comments about Kimmel and ABC from Brendan Carr, the Republican chairman of the US Federal Communications Commission. He suggested the agency could revoke the broadcast licenses of stations over Kimmel’s remarks — a threat echoed by President Donald Trump.
In a social media post Tuesday, Carr said: “On Kimmel, the Democrats are engaged in nothing more than Projection and Distortion.”
Sinclair, the largest owner of ABC affiliates, said it would run news programming in Kimmel’s spot.
Nexstar is in the process of trying to acquire Tegna Inc., another large station owner. Such a deal would require FCC approval and changes in station ownership limits. Sinclair has said it’s evaluating its businesses for a possible split up or sale.
The controversy followed remarks Kimmel made on Sept. 15, accusing Republicans of trying to benefit from the assassination of Kirk and saying he was “one of them.”
Among the markets that won’t be able to watch is Washington, DC, where Sinclair owns the local ABC station.
Network affiliates like Sinclair and Nexstar are free to preempt a particular program for as long as they like. However, they may be forced to pay a penalty to ABC if they keep a show of the air beyond a certain number of hours, according to Hank Price, a former president of several stations owned by CBS, Hearst and Gannett.
Subscribers to Disney’s Hulu streaming service will be able to watch Kimmel’s show, but not customers of its Hulu+Live product which runs feeds from local stations.
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