Arts & Entertainment·MediaSinclair reveals that it asked ABC to create a CBS- ombudsman while backing down on Jimmy Kimmel suspensionBy Nick LichtenbergBy Nick LichtenbergFortune Intelligence EditorNick LichtenbergFortune Intelligence EditorNick Lichtenberg is editor and was formerly Fortune's executive editor of global news.SEE FULL BIO Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel.Randy Holmes/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty ImagesSinclair Broadcast Group, one of the country’s largest owners of local television stations, announced Friday it will end its preemption of Jimmy Kimmel !
and will resume airing the late-night gram on its ABC affiliate stations, effective Friday evening.
The decision marks a significant reversal after a period of scrutiny and debate over the network’s gramming choices, with Sinclair and fellow affiliate Nexstar, which also de-platformed Kimmel, finding themselves at the center of a nationwide freedom-of-speech debate.
Sinclair fired back at its critics, claiming its decision was “independent of any government interaction or influence,” and was, in fact, an exercise of free speech itself.
“Free speech vides broadcasters with the right to exercise judgment as to the content on their local stations,” Sinclair said, arguing it’s “simply inconsistent to champion free speech while demanding that broadcasters air specific content.” The highly unusual preemption began last week, when Sinclair pulled Jimmy Kimmel !
from its ABC-affiliated stations—an action that drew widespread attention from both industry observers and the general public.
Sinclair said in its Friday statement that over the last week, it had received “thoughtful back from viewers, advertisers, and community leaders representing a wide range of perspectives.” The company also said it witnessed troubling acts of violence, including a shooting at an ABC affiliate station in Sacramento, Calif., implying its removal of Kimmel was responsible in a climate of heightened tension and political violence.
The company said such events “underscore why responsible broadcasting matters and why respectful dialogue between differing voices remains so important.” According to Sinclair, the primary objective in preempting Jimmy Kimmel !
was to ensure content broadcast on local stations remains “accurate and engaging for the widest possible audience.” The company emphasized its responsibility to “vide gramming that serves the interests of our communities” with its obligations to air national network gramming supplied by ABC.
Discussions with Disney and the idea of an ombudsman Sinclair claimed it engaged in “ and constructive discussions with ABC,” during which it posed a series of new accountability measures, such as creating a “network-wide independent ombudsman,” as part of a broader effort to facilitate transparency and constructive back.
Noting that ABC and its parent company, Disney, have yet to adopt these measures, Sinclair said it believes creating this new role could help to foster trust among viewers and stakeholders across the country.
It emphasized it would to strengthen accountability, as well as viewer back and community dialogue.
Sinclair and Nexstar’s actions to remove Kimmel came amid a flurry of s from FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, mpting criticisms of a government-pressure campaign to censor speech that was critical of the president.
Other criticisms, from figures such as influential podcaster Joe Rogan, argued that Kimmel was, in fact, inaccurate in the remarks that immediately preceded his preemption, having to do with the political ideology of the accused shooter of Charlie Kirk.
The appointment of an ombudsman amid a late-night host controversy and government regulation actually happened just weeks ago, when CBS News hired an ombudsman.
In July, when Carr apved the takeover of CBS’ parent company Paramount by Skydance, a company controlled by David Ellison, the son of billionaire and Trump ally Larry Ellison, he said that an ombudsman would soon be hired.
“In all respects, Skydance will ensure that CBS’s reporting is fair, unbiased, and fact-based,” Skydance said in a letter to Carr, as reported by the AP.
Shortly after Skydance took over Paramount, CBS announced the shocking cancellation of its own late-night show starring Stephen Colbert, just days after Colbert had criticized the decision surrounding the Paramount takeover.
Disney declined Fortune‘s request for . A Request for from Skydance was not immediately returned. Sinclair declined to beyond its statement.Fortune Global Forum returns Oct. 26–27, 2025 in Riyadh.
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