Jimmy Kimmel is slated to return to the ABC airwaves on Tuesday night after serving a short suspension — and igniting debate across the country about free speech.
Millions are expected to tune in, but at least 60 ABC affiliates — those owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group and by Nexstar Media Group — will not be airing Kimmel’s late-night talk show. Together, Sinclair and Nexstar own about a quarter of the country’s ABC stations.
The map below shows the locations of the Sinclair and Nexstar ABC affiliates. Viewers in those markets might be out of luck if they are hoping to watch Kimmel live (or during the show’s regularly scheduled time slot in their area). They might instead have to wait for clips from the show to pop up on social media sites such as YouTube or X.
Sinclair, which owns KATU in Portland, said Monday it would replace “Jimmy Kimmel Live” with news programming, while Nexstar also announced it would preempt the show until it can be assured “that all parties are committed to fostering an environment of respectful, constructive dialogue in the markets we serve.”