By Alex Sherman,Lillian Rizzo,Sarah Whitten
Copyright cnbc
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” was suspended after Nexstar Media Group, which owns more than 200 broadcast TV stations across the U.S., announced its stations affiliated with ABC would preempt Kimmel’s show. Sinclair, another large broadcast TV station owner, similarly threatened to preempt the program.
Sinclair said in a release last week that it would not lift the suspension on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” until it had formal discussions with ABC “regarding the network’s commitment to professionalism and accountability.”
As of Monday evening, a Sinclair representative said the company still planned to preempt the broadcast.
“Beginning Tuesday night, Sinclair will be preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live! across our ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming,” according to a statement from Sinclair. “Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return.”
Sinclair owns and operates nearly 40 ABC-affiliate stations across the U.S., including one in Washington, D.C., according to its website.
A Nexstar representative didn’t comment on the matter.
Kimmel said during his monologue last Monday that 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 about construction.
Immediately following ABC’s suspension of the show, everyone from entertainers to politicians weighed in on whether Kimmel should return to air, and whether the incident should affect station owners’ broadcast licenses.
Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr had suggested ABC’s broadcast license was at risk in light of Kimmel’s comments, telling CNBC last week, “we’re not done yet” with changes to the media landscape.
Trump suggested the federal government might revoke broadcast station licenses for the networks that are “against” him.
The FCC didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
Networks like ABC are part of a system that requires them to obtain over-the-air spectrum licenses from the federal government in order to broadcast across local stations. Since the networks are free to air over public spectrum — meaning anyone with an antenna can watch them — they must by law operate in “the public interest.”
Both Nexstar and Sinclair are currently looking to do deals that would require regulatory approval.
Nexstar recently announced a proposed $6.2 billion deal to merge with fellow broadcast station owner Tegna, a deal that would upend longstanding regulations for the industry on how many stations a parent company can own.
And Sinclair said in August it’s exploring merger options for its broadcast business, though it has yet to reach an agreement.
