Nexstar Media Group on Tuesday morning said it will not broadcast Jimmy Kimmel’s return to late-night on Tuesday evening, with the nation’s largest local TV station owner joining Sinclair in keeping Kimmel’s show off of its ABC affiliates, following his comments about Charlie Kirk’s killer last week.
Here is Nexstar’s full statement on the matter:
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.
Nexstar has 32 ABC affiliates among its 200 stations nationwide. The Irving, Texas-based company’s decision comes after Sinclair announced on Monday night it planned on showing alternate programming when Kimmel returns on Tuesday night. Between the two, 63 affiliates across the country will now be shut out of Tuesday’s return.
“Beginning Tuesday night, Sinclair will be preempting ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ across our ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming,” Sinclair’s statement read. “Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return.”
Some critics are calling out Nexstar’s plans to acquire Tegna — which owns another cluster of stations nationwide — as its true motive for its stance on Kimmel. The proposed Nexstar-Tegna deal would require approval from President Donald Trump’s FCC — which would need to relax its current limits on station ownership.
Between Nexstar’s ABC affiliates and the 38 affiliates that Sinclair has, Kimmel’s first show back will not be available in about one-quarter of all ABC households, Deadline reported.
On Monday, ABC announced it was lifting Kimmel’s suspension after four days — following a comment made on his Sept. 15 broadcast where he claimed the man who killed Kirk was a Trump supporter.
“The MAGA gang 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,” Kimmel said.
The comment led to swift pushback from Nexstar and Sinclair, and FCC Chair Brendan Carr on Sept. 17 said he felt Kimmel’s comment warranted a suspension.
Hours later, Kimmel was suspended — leading to some critics saying ABC and Disney caved to President Trump’s administration; White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt denied the president put “pressure” on ABC to suspend Kimmel.
The post JUST IN: Nexstar Joins Sinclair in Pre-Empting Jimmy Kimmel’s ABC Return On Its Stations first appeared on Mediaite.
