Los Angeles, California – In a seismic blow to late-night television, Nexstar Media Group announced Monday it will join Sinclair Broadcast Group in preempting “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” starting with the show’s reinstated episode tonight, effectively sidelining the program in nearly a quarter of ABC’s affiliate markets amid a raging debate over censorship and corporate power.
Nexstar, the nation’s largest station owner with 32 ABC affiliates in cities like Nashville and New Orleans, cited Kimmel’s “ill-timed and insensitive” comments on the September 10 assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk as the catalyst. In a statement, the company declared: “Providing Mr. Kimmel a broadcast platform… is simply not in the public interest at the current time.” Sinclair, controlling over 35 ABC stations, echoed the stance earlier, vowing to air local news instead and demanding a direct apology from Kimmel to Kirk’s family plus a donation to Turning Point USA.
The decision follows ABC’s Monday reversal, resuming the show after a weeklong suspension triggered by FCC Chair Brendan Carr’s threats of fines or license revocations for “news distortion.” Kimmel’s monologue had lampooned Republicans for reframing the accused shooter – 22-year-old Tyler Robinson – away from MAGA ties, prompting conservative outrage. Protests outside Disney headquarters swelled, with celebrities like Rosie O’Donnell and Kathy Griffin decrying it as “fascist extortion,” while FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks hailed the reinstatement as a “power of the people” win.
Insiders whisper regulatory motives: Nexstar’s $6.2 billion Tegna acquisition and Sinclair’s push for ownership cap lifts hang in the balance before the FCC, a Trump appointee-led body. “This isn’t about dialogue; it’s about deals,” one broadcasting executive said anonymously. Kimmel, set to address the saga in his monologue, faces a fragmented audience – ABC’s owned stations will air it, but preemptions in key markets could slash viewership by 20%.
The standoff exposes fractures in media’s ecosystem: affiliates flexing muscle against networks, all under government scrutiny. As boycotts mount and shares dip – Disney down 2% – the “Kimmel crisis” tests free speech’s limits in Trump’s America, where one joke risks a blackout.
