• Other

    Disney Breaks Silence on Jimmy Kimmel, Show Returns Tuesday

    AnyFans Posted on

    By Bill Bradley

    Copyright adweek

    Disney Breaks Silence on Jimmy Kimmel, Show Returns Tuesday

    Disney is finally breaking its late night TV silence, with Jimmy Kimmel set to return to ABC.

    Jimmy Kimmel Live was pulled from ABC’s lineup last Wednesday following backlash from the FCC and local TV giants such as Nexstar over comments Kimmel made regarding the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

    Now, in a newly released statement, Disney, ABC’s parent company, is explaining the situation and announcing the return of Jimmy Kimmel Live.

    “Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country. It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive. We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday,” Disney said in the statement.

    Kimmel’s team has yet to release a statement, with the host staying out of the public eye since his show was removed from the schedule.

    How we got here

    Kimmel’s comments about Charlie Kirk came last Monday, with the host saying that the “MAGA Gang” was trying to characterize Kirk’s killer as “anything other than one of them” and that the group was trying to “score political points” from the situation.

    These comments were then criticized by FCC chairman Brendan Carr on Wednesday, and, shortly after that, Nexstar, which owns hundreds of local stations, issued a statement that it would preempt coverage of Jimmy Kimmel Live.

    Following Nexstar’s statement, ABC confirmed to ADWEEK that it was pulling Kimmel’s show from the lineup.

    Notably, Nexstar is currently seeking FCC approval for a $6.2 billion acquisition of Tegna, which would make Nexstar the largest owner of local TV stations in the country. For that to happen, the FCC would have to raise a 40 percent ownership cap rule.

    Regarding Jimmy Kimmel Live’s return, it’s currently unknown if Nexstar and Sinclair, which also owns a large swath of local stations, will air episodes. Last Wednesday, both of the companies announced they would preempt the show following Kimmel’s comments.