ABC’s parent company, Disney, announced that the ABC talk show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” will return to the air after it was suspended for comments about assassinated right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, but local broadcast network owners have declared an ongoing boycott.<\/p>\n
Nexstar and Sinclair, the largest local network owners in the U.S., announced on the 23rd that they will maintain the suspension of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”<\/p>\n
In a statement, Nexstar said, “Following ABC’s call last week of Jimmy Kimmel’s comments as ‘untimely and insensitive,’ we have decided to replace the program at this important time in the national conversation.” They said, “We will maintain this decision until we are confident that all parties are committed to fostering a respectful and constructive dialogue.”<\/p>\n
Nexstar added that the program will be available nationwide on Disney-owned streaming platforms, adding, “Our stations will focus on producing local news and other programming appropriate for each local market.<\/p>\n
“Disney had previously announced, “We have had in-depth conversations with Jimmy Kimmel in recent days,” and that “following those conversations, we have reached the decision to resume the program on the 23rd.” However, Nexstar and Sinclair, which own about 30 and 40 ABC affiliates, respectively, have decided to continue boycotting the broadcast, meaning the program will remain unavailable in many areas.<\/p>\n
Local stations produce and broadcast their own content, such as local news, while also receiving and broadcasting content from national networks like ABC, Fox, NBC, and CBS, with which they have partnerships. The companies that own these stations and networks are subject to various regulations, including federal spectrum licensing reviews.<\/p>\n
Previously, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr, the U.S. broadcast regulator, warned that broadcasters could face license revocation if they made inappropriate comments on their programs, citing their statutory duty to “operate in the public interest.”<\/p>\n
Notably, Nexstar is currently pursuing the acquisition of Tegna, another broadcaster, which requires FCC approval. On the 15th, Kimmel, the host of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”, said on air, “The MAGA faction is desperately trying to frame this guy who killed Charlie Kirk as someone other than one of their own, and they’re doing everything they can to gain political advantage from it.”<\/p>\n
Following this, FCC Chairman Carr took issue with Kimmel’s remarks and demanded that local broadcasters suspend the program. ABC announced an “indefinite suspension,” igniting a debate over the constitutional value of “free speech.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"