By Jack Phillips
Contributing Writer
Nexstar Media Group said Tuesday that it will continue to preempt Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night TV show after ABC announced it would allow the program to return after a weeklong hiatus following Kimmel’s remarks about conservative commentator Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
“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,” the company said in a statement. “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.”
The company added that the show will still “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.”
Other than Nexstar, Sinclair Broadcast Group also said that it would keep preempting Kimmel’s show after ABC’s announcement on Monday evening. Instead of Kimmel’s show, Sinclair said that it would air news programming.
“Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return,” the company said in a statement to multiple news outlets.
Nexstar owns 32 ABC stations across the United States. Sinclair owns 30 ABC affiliate stations.
ABC suspended Kimmel indefinitely on Sept. 17 after comments he made in a monologue about Kirk, who was killed Sept. 10 while speaking at an event on a university campus in Utah.
Kimmel said in that monologue that “many in MAGA land are working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Kirk” and that “the MAGA gang” was “desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them.” MAGA stands for President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” policy agenda.
The suspect in Kirk’s assassination, Tyler Robinson, is alleged by prosecutors to have had left-wing political views and was pro-transgender. Robinson also allegedly told family members and local law enforcement that he shot Kirk because of Kirk’s views, officials said last week.
Andrew Kolvet, a spokesperson for Turning Point USA, the organization founded by Kirk and now headed by his widow, Erika, posted on X about Kimmel’s reinstatement: “Disney and ABC caving and allowing Kimmel back on the air is not surprising, but it’s their mistake to make. Nexstar and Sinclair do not have to make the same choice.”
After ABC’s decision, Trump, one of Kimmel’s frequent targets, posted on social media that the comedian’s suspension was “great news for America.” The president also called for other similar late-night hosts to be fired. He has yet to comment on Kimmel’s reinstatement.
Before Kimmel’s brief suspension, Brendan Carr, head of the Federal Communications Commission, warned during an interview with podcaster Benny Johnson that he would take action against ABC over Kimmel’s remarks. After Kimmel was suspended, Carr told CNBC that the late-night host appeared to have made misleading statements about the incident and noted in another interview with Fox News last week that broadcasters like ABC, NBC, and CBS have more stringent requirements under the FCC’s jurisdiction not to mislead the public.
Carr rebutted on Monday accusations that he threatened to revoke ABC’s local station licenses because of Kimmel’s remarks.
“Jimmy Kimmel is in the situation he’s in because of his ratings. Not because of anything that’s happened at the federal government level,” Carr said at the Concordia Annual Summit.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.