Sinclair and Nexstar are returning “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” to ABC affiliate broadcast stations beginning Friday, the companies said in separate statements.

The announcements come three days after Disney’s ABC broadcast network returned the late night program to its air after a nearly week-long suspension. Disney had temporarily suspended the late night show following comments Kimmel made about the alleged murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement.

“Our objective throughout this process has been to ensure that programming remains accurate and engaging for the widest possible audience. We take seriously our responsibility as local broadcasters to provide programming that serves the interests of our communities, while also honoring our obligations to air national network programming,” Sinclair said in a statement on Friday.

“Over the last week, we have received thoughtful feedback from viewers, advertisers, and community leaders representing a wide range of perspectives,” Sinclair said. “We have also witnessed troubling acts of violence, including the despicable incident of a shooting at an ABC affiliate station in Sacramento. These events underscore why responsible broadcasting matters and why respectful dialogue between differing voices remains so important.”

The broadcast station owners said earlier this week they would continue to preempt Kimmel’s late night show, meaning it would be unavailable on local stations for roughly 20% of the country, while they evaluated the situation and continued discussions with Disney.

Sinclair owns roughly 40 ABC affiliate stations in the U.S., including one in in Washington, D.C. Nexstar owns about 30 in markets including Salt Lake City and New Orleans.

Kimmel addressed the situation — and the ongoing preemptions — during his returning show this week.

“We are still on the air in most of the country, except, ironically, from Washington, D.C., where we have been preempted,” Kimmel said during Tuesday’s monologue. “After almost 23 years on the air, we’re suddenly not being broadcast in 20% of the country, which is not a situation we relish.”

Sinclair said Friday it had proposed measures to “strengthen accountability, viewer feedback, and community dialogue” at ABC and its affiliates.

“While ABC and Disney have not yet adopted these measures, and Sinclair respects their right to make those decisions under our network affiliate agreements, we believe such measures could strengthen trust and accountability,” it said.

Nexstar said in a statement: “We have had discussions with executives at The Walt Disney Company and appreciate their constructive approach to addressing our concerns.”

Disney declined to comment Friday.

Kimmel’s suspension last week came shortly after Nexstar announced it would not air the program in light of the host’s comments. Sinclair soon after said it would likewise preempt the program.

Those announcements followed comments from Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr that suggested ABC affiliate stations could be at risk of losing broadcast station licenses over Kimmel’s remarks, which came during a show monologue.

The series of events raised questions about influence by the Trump administration on the media and First Amendment protections.

“Our decision to preempt this program was independent of any government interaction or influence,” Sinclair said Friday. “Free speech provides broadcasters with the right to exercise judgment as to the content on their local stations. While we understand that not everyone will agree with our decisions about programming, it is simply inconsistent to champion free speech while demanding that broadcasters air specific content.”

Earlier this week, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., sent a letter to Sinclair pushing to bring “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” back on air. Sinclair owns the Seattle ABC affiliate station.

Nexstar similarly denied any government influence.

“As a local broadcaster, Nexstar remains committed to protecting the First Amendment while producing and airing local and national news that is fact-based and unbiased and, above all, broadcasting content that is in the best interest of the communities we serve,” Nexstar said in a statement.

“We stand apart from cable television, monolithic streaming services, and national networks in our commitment – and obligation – to be stewards of the public airwaves and to protect and reflect the specific sensibilities of our communities,” the statement continued. “To be clear, our commitment to those principles has guided our decisions throughout this process, independent of any external influence from government agencies or individuals.”

The post Sinclair, Nexstar return show to ABC stations appeared first on Our Story Insight.

Indeed, it’s likely only a matter of days before both the two companies that own dozens of ABC affiliate stations nationwide cave – and end their suspension of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” over its host’s incendiary and misleading remarks about the assassination of Charlie Kirk, sources said.

That’s because Disney is expected to use its clout to pressure both companies to abide by their so-called affiliate agreements with ABC. These megabuck contracts prescribe the fee schedule that local broadcasters like Nexstar and Sinclair pay to run national programming – along with the conditions that must be met to cancel shows.

Disney CEO Bob Iger is expected to pull out all the stops to get Jimmy Kimmel back on air on Nexstar amd Sinclair stations, sources tell On The Money. Getty Images

They are among the largest sources of revenue for networks including ABC, a unit of the Disney entertainment empire headed by CEO Bob Iger. With Kimmel’s show yanked from dozens of media markets across the US, national advertisers will begin demanding lower rates or rebates, forcing Iger to take legal action or other coercive measures.

“This is coming to an end – sooner rather than later,” said one veteran media executive with knowledge of the matter. “Iger knows the advertising pressure he’s going to face if Nexstar and Sinclair don’t bring back Kimmel, which means he will pull out all the stops to get Kimmel back on air.”

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Reps for Disney, Sinclair and Nexstar didn’t return requests for comment.

Affiliate agreements do give broadcasters like Sinclair and Nexstar some ability to throttle programming from the big networks through what is known as a “right to reject” clause. Back in 2018, some affiliate stations refused to air the sitcom “Roseanne” when allegedly racist comments made by Roseanne Barr emerged. 

People last week gather outside of KOMO-TV’s headquarters, the Sinclair Broadcast Group-owned ABC affiliate television station in Seattle, to protest ABC’s suspension of Kimmel. M. Scott Brauer/ZUMA / SplashNews.com

And yes – Nexstar needs approval from the Trump Federal Communications Commission for its purchase of rival broadcaster Tegna. Sinclair, likewise, is always in deal mode and in need of regulatory OKs, and Trump FCC chair Brendan Carr has said he would throttle deals of local broadcasters that air false commentary.

Kimmel’s commentary was certainly noxious. Last week he inaccurately stated that the “MAGA gang” was looking to capitalize on Kirk’s assassination by making the killer out to be “anything other than one of them.” The actual killer despised Kirk’s conservative politics.

With Kimmel’s show yanked from dozens of media markets across the US, national advertisers will begin demanding lower rates or rebates, forcing Iger to take legal action or other coercive measures. J W Hendricks/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

But media insiders say Nexstar and Sinclair face even bigger problems from the Disney side if they keep him off the air. Both signed their agreements fully aware of Kimmel’s hyper-partisan and anti-Trump political humor. Disney could argue the continued suspension of Kimmel violates their agreement. That’s after Kimmel, while not making an apology, at least said nice things about Kirk’s widow after ABC lifted its own suspension on Tuesday.

Disney has other tools in its kit – and some of them are big. It could withhold essential programming like Monday Night Football, which airs both on ABC, and Disney’s ESPN cable sports channel.

Sinclair is always in deal mode and in need of regulatory OKs, and Trump FCC chair Brendan Carr has said he would throttle deals of local broadcasters that air false commentary. SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Meanwhile, Iger is under pressure from his advertisers and his shareholders to force both networks — they control some 66 ABC affiliates in cities across 38 states  — to reinstate Kimmel as soon as possible as the impasse threatens to blow a hole in Disney’s balance sheet.

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Combined, both broadcasters control a huge swath of ABC affiliated networks; they allow ABC, for example, to charge significantly higher ad rates because of their reach into middle America including the average of 1.4 million Americans who watch Kimmel on average each night (Kimmel’s viewership shot up to more than 6 million the night he returned amid the controversy.)

Iger, a veteran media executive who has been running the House of Mouse off and on for the past 20 years, is loath to set a precedent where affiliate networks can pick and choose which programs to air and depress its all-important audience count it sells to advertisers at a moment’s notice.

Of course, just because Iger will likely prevail in this standoff doesn’t mean he’ll win any popularity contests elsewhere.

“I hate to be Bob Iger these days,” said one rival media CEO.

The post Here’s where Bob Iger’s ‘Jimmy Kimmel’ standoff with Nexstar, Sinclair is headed — and why nobody is joking appeared first on Our Story Insight.