Broadcasting giant Sinclair, which owns dozens of ABC affiliates across several states, confirmed Wednesday that it will continue to withhold airings of Jimmy Kimmel Live! until the titular host issues a formal apology for his comments about the Charlie Kirk assassination.
Kimmel was suspended for several days after he falsely claimed that the shooter was a “MAGA” supporter, prompting massive backlash against ABC and the show’s advertisers. After Sinclair and fellow broadcasting juggernaut Nextstar announced that they would be preempting Kimmel’s show in favor of news programming unless a retraction was issued, ABC announced that Kimmel’s show would be suspended “indefinitely.”
After several days of negotiations between Kimmel and the network, the host returned to the airwaves on Tuesday night. Kimmel did tearfully state that he did not intend to “celebrate the murder of a young man,” and apologized for anyone who thought his comments might have been taken out of context, though his statement fell short of an apology for the false statement in the eyes of Sinclair, according to a report from Fox News.
“Beginning Tuesday night, Sinclair will be preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live! across our ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming. Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return,” the network announced Tuesday.
Nextstar also affirmed that they will be joining Sinclair in preempting Kimmel’s show until a retraction is issued.
“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,” a Nexstar spokesperson said in a statement.
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“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. In the meantime, we note that ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ will 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.”
New York Magizine’s Rachel Bovard stated that the broadcasters have “spines of steel” for standing by their decisions.
With 39 ABC stations owned by Sinclair and 26 by Nexstar, the combined boycott is expected to keep Kimmel off more than one in four ABC affiliates across the country. The move comes as both broadcasters pursue a $6.2 billion merger in front of the Federal Communications Commission and its pro-Trump chair, Brendan Carr, who has previously spoken out against Kimmel’s disinformation.
