As it announced Friday that it would return Jimmy Kimmel Live! to the air on its stations nationwide, Nexstar told its staff that the station group’s benching of the ABC late-night show was not “a violation of the First Amendment.”
In an internal memo sent out today by CEO Perry Sook and president Michael Biard to the station group’s employees, Nexstar revealed that “cooler heads” prevailed in the controversy over Kimmel’s on-air remarks about Donald Trump and his MAGA base’s response to the Charlie Kirk shooting. In addition, the executives offered a spirited defense of the decision to pull Live! off its affiliate stations on September 17.
“We also want to address questions raised about the First Amendment,” Sook and Biard wrote. “No one has an unlimited right to say whatever they want on a talk show. Every network and station has made tough calls when on-air conduct crosses a line. That isn’t a violation of the First Amendment — it’s an exercise of editorial responsibility and stewardship of the public airwaves. As we said in our press release, Nexstar remains committed to protecting the First Amendment, delivering fact-based and unbiased news, and broadcasting content that best serves our communities. These principles guided us throughout this process and will continue to do so.”
See the full memo below.
After a weekend backlash over the decision by Disney CEO Bob Iger and Disney Entertainment boss Dana Walden to take Kimmel’s show off the ABC’s air “indefinitely,” the execs decided to bring the show back. During Kimmel’s opening monologue in his first show back Tuesday that included a cameo by Robert De Niro, the late-night host didn’t offer an explicit apology as the likes of station group Sinclair and others desired. However, Kimmel did address the situation head-on, expressing regret to anyone who had been upset by his remarks.
Kimmel, being Kimmel, then proceeded to continue roasting Trump and FCC chairman Brenden Carr for the rest of the show and subsequent episodes this week.
Tuesday’s return of Jimmy Kimmel Live! resulted in the show’s second-highest rated episode ever.
While Nexstar and Sinclair did not initially broadcast Kimmel’s return on its stations including in cities like Seattle, Nashville and Washington, D.C., both announced today that they would be returning Live! to their stations tonight.
According to sources, there ware no formal conditions placed on either Kimmel or Disney for the late-night host’s return to the affiliate stations.
Although the two station groups’ market share is relatively low, the return of Jimmy Kimmel Live! tonight comes just days before the show moves to Brooklyn for its annual week of high-profile episodes in New York City.
Here’s the full memo.
TO: Fellow Members of the Nexstar Nation
CC: Dennis Thatcher
FR: Perry A. Sook, Michael Biard
RE: Jimmy Kimmel Live!
DA: 9/26/2025
As you know, Jimmy Kimmel Live! will return to our ABC stations this evening. This decision follows constructive discussions with Disney/ABC management over the past few days. We called for cooler heads to prevail during this sensitive time in our national political discourse, and we believe now is the right moment to bring the show back to our stations.
We appreciate your patience as this unfolded. We recognize that our decision created difficult, and at times distressing, circumstances for many of you—particularly at ABC affiliates. Some of you faced hostile and even threatening reactions. We regret that, but we also know standing by principle requires fortitude and a willingness to take the harder path. As FCC licensees, we take seriously our duty to program in the public interest, even when not everyone agrees.
We also want to address questions raised about the First Amendment. No one has an unlimited right to say whatever they want on a talk show. Every network and station has made tough calls when on-air conduct crosses a line. That isn’t a violation of the First Amendment — it’s an exercise of editorial responsibility and stewardship of the public airwaves. As we said in our press release, Nexstar remains committed to protecting the First Amendment, delivering fact-based and unbiased news, and broadcasting content that best serves our communities. These principles guided us throughout this process and will continue to do so.
Thank you again for your support and resilience. We wish you a great weekend.