“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” is Returns to ABC: Sinclair and Nexstar End Preempt of the Late-Night Show
Kimmel’s indefinite hiatus has ended after just under a week.
Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension is over, with Jimmy Kimmel Live! set to return to ABC on Tuesday night.
To find out if your local ABC affiliate is not airing Jimmy Kimmel Live!, you can check out our helpful list.
UPDATE – 3:30 p.m. PT, September 26th:
- Nexstar has also announced that Jimmy Kimmel Live! will return to their ABC affiliate channels tonight, September 26th.
- The second largest operator of ABC affiliate channels shared a statement on their website sharing the series’ return.
- In a much shorter statement than Sinclair, Nexstar echoed many of the key talking points, including their “constructive" conversations with The Walt Disney Company.
- Highlighting their commitment to protecting the First Amendment, their decision to preempt the show also came from concerns regarding the best interest of the communities they broadcast to.
- Specifically, they shared that they set out “to be stewards of the public airwaves and to protect and reflect the specific sensibilities of our communities."
- Nexstar also clarified their decisions have been free of external or governmental influence.
UPDATE – 12:15 p.m. PT, September 26th:
- Sinclair, Inc. has announced it will end its preemption of Jimmy Kimmel Live! on their ABC affiliate channels effective tonight, September 26th.
- The media company, who is the largest owner and operator of ABC affiliate channels, released a full statement on their official website.
- According to the statement, Sinclair’s intent behind the late-night show’s omission from their broadcast schedule was to “ensure that programming remains accurate and engaging for the widest possible audience."
- The decision to reinstate Jimmy Kimmel Live! comes after feedback from viewers, advertisers, and community leaders “representing a wide range of perspectives."
- Sinclair also shares that they have had “constructive conversations" with ABC, suggesting the Disney-owned network prioritize accountability and community discourse with the help of an independent ombudsman.
- ABC has yet to adopt these suggestions.
- Coming to the defense, Sinclair was stern in its decision to exercise free speech, claiming it “simply inconsistent to champion free speech while demanding that broadcasters air specific content."
Previously:
UPDATE – 8:20 a.m. PT, September 23rd:
- Nexstar Media Group is joining Sinclair in continuing to preempt Jimmy Kimmel Live! when the show returns to the airwaves tonight.
- Nexstar’s 32 ABC affiliates, the second largest owner of affiliates in the country, will instead air local news and other programming relevant to their respective markets.
- They issued a statement saying:
- “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. 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."
UPDATE – 5:35 p.m. PT, September 22nd:
- Sinclair, Inc., a major U.S. media company and one of the largest owners/operators of local television stations, has announced they will not air Jimmy Kimmel Live! across their ABC affiliate stations.
- In a statement posted to X, Sinclair shared they will be preemptively replacing the late-night show’s timeslot with news programming.
- Most ABC stations in the U.S. are owned by independent groups, with Sinclair being the largest owner of ABC affiliated stations at 38.
- Disney’s initial reaction to put Jimmy Kimmel Live! on an indefinite hiatus was in part due to the pushback from Sinclair and Nexstar, another huge affiliate station operator.
- Sinclair also shared there are ongoing discussions with ABC about the show’s potential return.
- You can check to see if your local ABC station is affected by visiting Sinclair’s TV station directory.
What’s Happening:
- Jimmy Kimmel Live! will return with new episodes beginning on Tuesday, September 23.
- Last week, ABC made the abrupt decision to pull the series from the air for what was described at the time as an "indefinite hiatus."
- In their press release announcing the show’s return, The Walt Disney Company stated, “Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country. It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive. We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday."
- The situation escalated after an episode early last week where Kimmel, in his monologue, brought up the reaction to the recent murder of Charlie Kirk, saying, “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang trying to characterize this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it."
- This led to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr doing an interview condemning Kimmel’s words, in which he also stated, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct to take action on Kimmel or there's going to be additional work for the FCC ahead."
- Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair, who own many ABC affiliate stations, then chose to pull Kimmel, which in turn quickly led to ABC’s outright suspension of production on the show.
- The move has resulted in widespread criticism by many in the past few days over the decision and the perceived role direct government pressure played in it, including from former Disney CEO Michael Eisner.
- Disney announcing Kimmel’s return comes on the heels of a day that had the hosts of another ABC show, The View, also speak out against the situation, while over 400 high-profile actors, writers and directors had signed an open letter in support of Kimmel.
- Suffice to say, curiosity will be high about what Kimmel will say in his monologue when he’s back onstage in his Hollywood studio on Tuesday.
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