Sinclair and Nexstar Bring Back “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” After Preemption
Two major TV station owners, Sinclair Broadcasting and Nexstar Media Group, announced on Friday that they are returning “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” to their ABC stations, ending the preemption of the late-night show over remarks Kimmel had made following the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. This decision comes after a six-day suspension, during which Disney’s ABC brought the show back on Tuesday, but stations owned by Sinclair and Nexstar had continued to air other programming in that time slot instead.
Stations’ Statement and Rationale
Sinclair said in a statement Friday afternoon that the show will be back on the air on its ABC affiliates tonight, and a few hours later, Nexstar announced it’s bringing the show back tonight as well. Sinclair owns 38 ABC stations across the U.S. and Nexstar owns 33. According to Sinclair, “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.” Nexstar also released a statement, saying, “We have had discussions with executives at The Walt Disney Company and appreciate their constructive approach to addressing our concerns. 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.”
Viewership and Ratings
The show’s Tuesday episode, which was inaccessible to viewers in Sinclair and Nexstar-controlled markets, still drew a broadcast audience of about four times larger than average. An estimated 6.26 million people tuned into the broadcast, Disney said in a statement Wednesday, citing numbers compiled by Nielsen, an audience measurement firm. The data does not include viewers who streamed the program online. Kimmel’s show drew a nightly average of 1.42 million broadcast viewers during its 2024-25 season, a Disney spokesperson told CBS News.
About the Author
Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending, and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting. For more information on this story, visit Here
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