In this articleNXSTSBGIDIS your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNTJimmy Kimmel speaks during the Disney Advertising Upfront showcase event on Tuesday, May 13, 2025 at North Javits in New York City.David Russell | Disney General Entertainment Content | Getty ImagesNexstar Media Group, one of the largest owners of broadcast TV stations, said it would not air the return of "Jimmy Kimmel !" on Tuesday.The company joins Sinclair, which said Monday it didn't plan to air the late-night show, and instead would show other gramming.ABC parent Disney announced Monday it would bring back "Jimmy Kimmel !" after pausing the show indefinitely last week ing s by host Kimmel that linked the alleged killer of conservative activist Charlie Kirk to President Donald Trump's MAGA movement.Nexstar was among the first to respond to Kimmel's s."We made a decision last week to preempt 'Jimmy Kimmel !' ing what ABC referred to as Mr.
Kimmel's 'ill-timed and insensitive' s 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 we serve," Nexstar said in a Tuesday statement."In the meantime, we note that 'Jimmy Kimmel !' will be available nationwide on multiple Disney-owned ing ducts, while our stations will focus on continuing to duce local news and other gramming relevant to their respective ," the company said.Nexstar and Sinclair are among the largest broadcast TV station owners in the U.S.
The companies own and operate stations in local that are affiliated with major networks including ABC, Fox, NBC and CBS.Nexstar owns roughly 30 stations affiliated with ABC in including Salt Lake City, Nashville, Tennessee, and New Orleans.
Sinclair owns and operates nearly 40 ABC affiliate stations.Sinclair last week ed Nexstar in preempting Kimmel's show.
The station owner said late Monday it would still preempt "Jimmy Kimmel !" after ABC returned it to broadcast this week.In a statement, Sinclair said discussions with ABC were " as we evaluate the show's potential return."A Disney representative on Monday didn't on the discussions with Sinclair and other affiliate station owners.
The company didn't immediately respond to a request for on Tuesday.In its statement on Monday announcing Kimmel's return, Disney said it "made the decision to suspend duction on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country."Disney CEO Bob Iger and Dana Walden, co-chair of Disney Entertainment, made the decision to return Kimmel to air and alerted the comedian on Monday, CNBC reported.
Local station owners learned on Monday when Disney made the public announcement that Kimmel would return, CNBC reported at the time.FCC threatsU.S.
President-elect Donald Trump speaks to Brendan Carr, his int pick for Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, as he attends a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket on November 19, 2024 in Brownsville, Texas.
Brandon Bell | Getty ImagesWhile the stations offer local content, such as news, they also air national gramming affiliated with their network, including sports, late-night TV, national news shows and prime-time series.
The station owners license spectrum from the government and the networks are free-to-air — meaning consumers can watch the networks for free with an antenna.ing Kimmel's s last Monday, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr suggested licenses were at risk of being revoked as stations and networks are required by law to operate in the "public interest."Carr said on CNBC last week that Kimmel's s appeared to "directly mislead the American public ...
bably one of the most significant political events we've had in a long time."During Kimmel's opening monologue last Monday, Kimmel said the "MAGA gang" was "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.""In between the finger-pointing there was grieving.
On Friday the White House flew the flags at half-staff, which got some criticism, but on a human level you can see how hard the president is taking this," he continued, teeing up a clip of Trump on the White House lawn in which the president fields a question on Kirk but swiftly pivots to talking construction.The FCC didn't respond to requests for this week, however, Carr took to social media platform X to weigh in earlier on Tuesday."On Kimmel, the Democrats are engaged in nothing more than jection and Distortion," Carr said in his post on Tuesday, adding, "Distortion because Democrats want to blame anything other than Disney and their local TV stations for Kimmel's suspension.
Those es decided that, in their view, a suspension made sense.
The reporting on this is .""Notably, this is the first time recently that any local TV stations have pushed back on a national grammer Disney.
And that is a good thing because we want want empowered local TV stations.
After all, local TV stations—not the national grammers—have public interest obligations, and they should be making decisions that in their view meets the needs of their local communities," Carr posted.Pressure has been mounting on media companies since Trump entered office for a second term and Carr took his post as head of the FCC earlier this year.
Public statements denouncing broadcasters, news outlets and specific gramming have raised questions the tection of free speech.Trump has barred specific reporters and news organizations from pooled press events, and earlier this week the Pentagon issued further restrictions on journalists.The Trump administration has also filed lawsuits against news outlets including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
ABC News settled a lawsuit last year in which the network agreed to pay $15 million to Trump's presidential library to settle a dispute with the president.
Before its merger with Skydance Media, which officially closed in August, Paramount paid $16 million to settle a lawsuit with Trump.Days after the settlement, the FCC granted Paramount and Skydance apval to merge after more than a year of delays.
Stephen Colbert, late-night host for Paramount Skydance-owned CBS, referred to the settlement as "a big fat bribe." CBS later announced the cancellation of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," citing financial reasons.Nexstar is currently seeking FCC apval for its posed $6.2 billion merger with fellow broadcast station owner Tegna.
And while it has yet to ink a deal, Sinclair is also exploring merger options for its broadcast stations.Disney, meanwhile, is seeking regulatory apval for a deal in which the NFL would acquire 10% of the company's ESPN in exchange for NFL Media assets.Don’t miss these insights from CNBC Market track record is flawless when the Fed cuts rates with S&P 500 near record highFed rate cuts will make dividend stocks more appealing for income investors.
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