The Walt Disney Company’s broadcast network ABC might be ready for Jimmy Kimmel to return to the air waves — but Sinclair, one of the largest owners of local ABC affiliates — is not.
On Tuesday, ABC said it had reached an agreement with Kimmel to reverse his show’s indefinite hiatus, saying in a statement the show will resume broadcasting Tuesday evening.
But in more than 30 markets where Sinclair owns the local ABC affiliate, the show will be pre-empted and an extended local newscast will air in its place, a spokesperson for the broadcaster said.
“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 spokesperson said.
Last Wednesday, before ABC put the show on hiatus, Sinclair said it would pre-empt future airings of the program following Kimmel’s monologue on Monday, during which he incorrectly implied that a man suspected of shooting political activist Charlie Kirk was part of “MAGA gang” and that supporters of President Donald Trump were attempting to curry public support through Kirk’s death.
The remark triggered sharp criticism from conservative lawmakers and commentators. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr warned that networks and their stations could face regulatory consequences if they failed to address Kimmel’s conduct.
“Frankly, when you see stuff like this, I mean, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way,” Carr said on a podcast Wednesday. “These companies can find ways to change conduct, to take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
Carr’s comments came nearly full two days after the monologue aired. It wasn’t clear if Sinclair received any complaints from viewers on Tuesday — one day after the monologue aired, and one day before Carr’s comments. A spokesperson has not returned a request for additional information.
Sinclair was one of two broadcasters to threaten a blackout of Kimmel’s programming on their ABC affiliates. The other, Nexstar Media Group, owns another 30 or so ABC-affiliated stations.
Both Nexstar and Sinclair have business-related transactions that are pending, in part because they require certain approvals of the FCC before those deals can close.
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