Jimmy Kimmel Live! After Disney lifts an indefinite suspension of late-night US shows, it will return to the airwaves, but two of the two affiliate owners, Sinclair Broadcasting Group and Nexter Media Group, will not air the long-term program.
Disney owns broadcasting station ABC, home to Jimmy Kimmel Live. On Monday evening, Disney announced that the show will return following discussions with Kimmel’s team and network representatives. However, the two major affiliate operators have not reversed the course.
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Keeping the show away from these affiliate television stations will significantly cut it out of Kimmel’s reach. Together, Nexstar and Sinclair own and operate 70 of the 250 ABC stations across the United States, and are in conflict with the network.
Vested Rights in Nexstar
ABC pulled out the Jimmy Kimmel show after the comedian made a comment about the murder of conservative figure Charlie Kirk. The suspension comes just hours after Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Brendan Kerr warned that the station carrying the show would face fines, lose its broadcast license and urged it to “step up.”
Carr’s comments pushed beyond political spheres, including US President Donald Trump’s allies. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz called Carr’s remarks “hell-hell-hasty,” while Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell said Cruz “has done it right.”
Nexstar owns 23 ABC affiliates and is currently pursuing a $6.2 billion merger with competitor Tegna. This is a transaction that requires FCC approval. If completed, the total company will reach 80% of US households, well above the current 39% cap, and will require policy changes. Carr has been helping to remove that cap for a long time.
“In the hopes of Nexuster’s approval for a merger with Tegna, Nexstar’s surrender shows why it should not be allowed to actually merge with Tenna. The large conglomerate has enormous leverage to promote the Trump administration’s crackdown on free speech.
Carr praised the Nexter last week for abolishing Kimmel in markets such as Salt Lake City, Nashville and New Orleans.
Margot Saska, professor of journalism, accountability and democracy at the American University in Washington, DC, said the FCC pressure on Kimmel sets a troubling precedent.
“I think the worry is that it’s Jimmy Kimmel now, but if another corporate media owner needs to make a deal and say they don’t like the Trump administration or the segments that Brendan Kerr comes to the news program, then next year we can meet the press (which will be aired on NBC).
Other media experts argue that the issue is rooted in ownership of leverage affiliates.
In the US, affiliate operators license programming from the network and allow them to pay freight charges for this. Partnerships usually bring in more audiences, resulting in more advertising revenue shared between the network and affiliate marketing. Affiliates can preempt network programming, for example, due to harsh weather phenomena or local news during political debates.
“They (TV station operators) simply can’t run these programs because they don’t need as much networks as they did at once,” Tom Letitia, media consultant and head of Letitia Agency, a political communications company, mentioned the global trends in audiences who find content on social media and streaming platforms.
“This is to make a profit. That’s really the purpose of this business. Don’t forget that. That means ratings are the lifeblood of a TV station. If there is no rating, you can’t charge advertisers the premium cost of the location.”
Much of the advertising spending in small markets comes from local political parties, and if politics do not match, you can cut the ad dollars.
Nexstar said it would preempt Kimmel indefinitely and support the decision to “monitor the show when we return to ABC.” The company denied political involvement or pressure from the Trump administration.
“The decision to preempt Jimmy Kimmel’s live performance was made unilaterally by a senior Nexstar team of executives, and there was no communication with the FCC or government agencies before making that decision,” a Nexstar spokesperson told Al Jazeera.
Sinclair’s Stance
Sinclair Broadcasting said on Monday it has no plans to resume airing Kimmel’s shows at 38 ABC affiliates, and will opt for a news program instead.
The company, the second largest US station operator after Nexstar, has forced Kimmel to apologise for “making meaningful personal donations to the Kirk family and Turning Point USA.” Kirk’s conservative activist organization.
Sinclair has long faced criticism of its conservative tendencies. The company’s executive chairman, David Smith, donated $250,000 to Kirk’s Turning Point USA in 2024, with the listed addresses consistent with Sinclair’s headquarters through the David D-Smith Family Foundation.
In 2018, Sinclair asked local anchors to read a script that criticized “unilateral media coverage.” This came when the company at the time was pursuing a $3.9 billion merger with Tribune Media. This was a deal that eventually collapsed after the Tribune retreated.
“As station owners, they can choose what their content is. Sinclair is a rather right-wing organization,” Susuka said.
“When they buy stations at local markets, it’s taking coverage on the right side. They’ll focus more on national politics.”
A 2019 survey in the American Political Science Review found that Sinlay Station was more conservative than its competitors in the same market.
“As we evaluate the show’s potential returns, discussions with ABC are ongoing,” Sinclair said in a statement. The company did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for further comment.
Disney’s decision
Disney’s move to revive Kimmel comes amid widespread public pressure. Celebrities and elected officials have sought a boycott of Disney-owned platforms, including Disney+, ESPN and Hulu, in the wake of his suspension.
Google Trends data showed that, following the suspension, these platforms cancel searches that have been spiked to the highest level of all time.
ABC owns only directly eight stations, including New York and Houston. New York’s WABC faced political backlash when mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani cited ABC’s Kimmel suspension and emerged from the debate he was planning to host.
“Broadcast media is business. Don’t mistake that Kimmel was broadcasting is a business decision. Kimmel is brought back into the air is a business decision,” says Susca.
Disney stocks have fallen 2.78% over the past five days.
Laura Crompton, media analyst and head of the global communications agency Hopscotch’s Los Angeles Office, said Tuesday’s show could provide an improved rating.
“For now, it appears they’ve chosen to put things right and show that they won’t fall into overreach or threats. But this tells us that it’s not over yet. If you want to find a silver lining, Kimmel’s comeback show is likely to destroy tonight’s audience. Crompton told Al Jazeera.
Disney did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.
