Sinclair and Nexstar “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” The company said in separate statements to ABC affiliate broadcasters starting Friday.
The announcement will be made in 3 days Disney The ABC Broadcast Network aired a late-night program after almost a week of suspension. Disney had temporarily suspended its late-night shows following comments made by Kimmel about the murders of conservative activists Charlie Kirk and President Donald Trump’s Maga movement.
“The aim of this whole process was to ensure that programming was accurate and attractive to the widest audience possible. We will provide programming that serves the benefits of our community, while also celebrating our obligation to seriously embrace our responsibility as a local broadcaster and broadcast national network programming,” Sinclair said in a statement Friday.
“Last week, we received thoughtful feedback from our audiences, advertisers and community leaders representing a wide range of perspectives,” Sinclair said. “We also witnessed nasty acts of violence, including a sleazy incident of shootings at ABC Affiliate Station in Sacramento. These events highlight why responsible broadcasting is important and why respectful dialogue between different voices is so important.”
The broadcaster’s owner said he would continue to pre-empt Kimmel’s late-night show earlier this week. That is, it said it is not available at around 20% of the country’s local stations.
Sinclair owns approximately 40 ABC affiliate stations in the United States, including Washington, DC Nexstar. Nexstar owns around 30 markets, including Salt Lake City and New Orleans.
Kimmel worked on the situation and ongoing preemption during this week’s return show.
“Ironically, except for the irony from Washington, DC, we are still broadcasting nationwide,” Kimmel said in a monologue Tuesday. “After nearly 23 years of airing, we’re not suddenly airing in 20% of the country, but this is not a situation we enjoy.”
Sinclair said Friday that ABC and its affiliates proposed measures to “enhance accountability, audience feedback and community dialogue.”
“Although ABC and Disney have not yet adopted these measures, and Sinclair respects their right to make these decisions under their network affiliate agreements, we believe such measures can enhance trust and accountability.”
In a statement, Nexstar said: “We are grateful for the constructive approach we have discussed with executives at Walt Disney Company and addressed our concerns.”
Disney declined to comment Friday.
Kimmel’s suspension came just after Nexstar announced last week that it would not air the program in light of the host’s comments. Sinclair said he would soon prevail on the program.
These announcements followed comments from Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendanker, who suggested that ABC affiliate stations could be at risk of losing their broadcast station licenses in Kimmel’s remarks that came during the show’s monologue.
The series of events raised questions about the media and the Trump administration’s impact on First Amendment protections.
“Our decision to preempt this programme was unrelated to government interactions and influence,” Sinclair said Friday. “Free speech offers broadcasters the right to make judgments regarding the content of local stations. While not everyone agrees with our decisions regarding programming, it is simply contradictory to defend free speech while requiring the station to dedicate certain content to the air.”
Earlier this week, Senator Maria Cantwell was D-Wash. sent a letter to Sinclair to bring “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Returns to the air. Sinclair owns the Seattle ABC Affiliate Station.
Nexstar similarly denied government influence.
“As a local broadcaster, Nexstar is committed to protecting and broadcasting the First Amendment while producing and broadcasting content, which is factual and most of all, the best interests of the communities we serve,” Nexstar said in a statement.
“We are the manager of public radio waves, separated from cable television, monolithic streaming services and national networks in our commitment, to protect and reflect the specific sensibilities of our communities,” the statement continued. “To be clear, our commitment to these principles has guided our decisions throughout this process, independent of external influences from government agencies and individuals.”
