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Despite Disney’s announcement that “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” will return to the air, major local station owners, Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group, have announced they will continue to preempt the show in key markets, extending backlash over the host’s controversial remarks.
Kimmel’s late-night show was initially pulled off the air last Wednesday after Kimmel’s remarks about the alleged assassin of Charlie Kirk sparked outrage and a veiled threat from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Disney decided to suspend the show after Nexstar and Sinclair pulled airings of Kimmel from their stations, and Kimmel reportedly told executives he would not apologize for his comments.
The situation caused outrage among liberals, who said Kimmel was being punished for exercising freedom of speech. Conservatives countered that Kimmel’s comments suggesting Kirk’s suspected killer was a MAGA member were outrageous and false.
JIMMY KIMMEL’S LATE-NIGHT EVOLUTION FROM APOLITICAL FUNNYMAN TO DEM ACTIVIST
Disney announced on Monday that “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” will return, and the host is expected to address the controversy on the show Tuesday night. However, not all Americans will be able to tune in on linear television.
Disney owns and operates ABC affiliates in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston and Raleigh-Durham, N.C. Viewers in these markets can count on seeing Kimmel’s return.
ABC affiliates in other markets that plan to air Kimmel’s return are owned by parent groups including Tegna Inc., Cox Media Group, Hearst Broadcast Group, E.W. Scripps Company, Hubbard Broadcasting, Sunbeam television, Gray Television and other local media companies.
SINCLAIR WILL PREEMPT JIMMY KIMMEL’S SHOW DESPITE DISNEY ENDING ITS SUSPENSION
Markets where Nexstar owns the ABC affiliate and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” is expected to be preempted:
- Nashville, Tenn.
- Salt Lake City, Utah
- Hartford / New Haven, Conn.
- Harrisburg, Pa.
- New Orleans, La.
- Richmond, Va.
- Knoxville, Tenn.
- Albany, N.Y.
- Syracuse, N.Y.
- Burlington, Vt.
- Tri-Cities, Tenn.-Va.
- Augusta, Ga.
- Evansville, Ind.
- Lansing, Mich.
- Youngstown, Ohio
- Rockford, Ill.
- Lubbock, Texas
- Midland / Odessa, Texas
- Panama City, Fla.
- Sioux City, Iowa
- Joplin, Mo.
- Erie, Pa.
- Terre Haute, Ind.
- Binghamton, N.Y.
- Wheeling, W. Va. – Steubenville, Ohio (towns share a media market)
- Billings, Mont.
- Dothan, Ala.
- Utica, N.Y.
- Clarksburg / Weston, W. Va.
- Watertown, N.Y.
FCC CHAIR LEVELS THREAT AGAINST ABC, DISNEY AFTER KIMMEL SUGGESTED CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSIN WAS ‘MAGA’
Markets where Sinclair owns the ABC affiliate and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” is expected to be preempted:
- Abilene-Sweetwater, Texas
- Amarillo, Texas
- Birmingham, Ala.
- Charleston – Huntington, W.Va.
- Charleston, S.C.
- Chattanooga, Tenn.
- Columbus, Ohio
- Dayton, Ohio
- Eureka, Calif.
- Florence – Myrtle Beach, S.C.
- Greensboro – High Point – Winston Salem, N.C.
- Greenville – Spartanburg, S.C. – Asheville, N.C. – Anderson, S.C.
- New Bern, N.C.
- Lincoln – Hastings – Kearney, Neb.
- Little Rock – Pine Bluff, Ark.
- Macon, Ga.
- Mobile, Ala. / Pensacola, Fla.
- Ottumwa, Iowa / Kirksville, Mo.
- Portland, Ore.
- Roanoke – Lynchburg, V.a.
- Rochester, N.Y.
- San Angelo, Texas
- Seattle – Tacoma, Wash.
- St. Louis, Mo.
- Traverse City – Cadillac, Mich.
- Tulsa, Okla.
Sinclair Broadcast Group has said “discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return,” while Nexstar said it stands by the decision to bench Kimmel pending assurance that all parties are “committed to fostering an environment of respectful, constructive dialogue in the markets we serve.”
“In the meantime, we note that ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ will be available nationwide on multiple Disney-owned streaming products, while our stations will focus on continuing to produce local news and other programming relevant to their respective markets,” Nexstar added.
The affiliates will air local news programming in the show’s place.
FCC CHAIR BRENDAN CARR DEFENDS ABC AFFILIATES PULLING JIMMY KIMMEL SHOW AFTER MONOLOGUE ABOUT CHARLIE KIRK
Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
The saga began last Monday when Kimmel accused conservatives of reaching “new lows” in trying to pin a left-wing ideology on 22-year-old suspected Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said.
Kirk was assassinated during a college event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10. The 31-year-old father of two was answering a question about transgender mass shooters when he was fatally shot in the neck. Robinson was romantically linked to a transgender partner, and text messages released by the FBI purport to show him confessing to the murder.
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