Posted in: ABC, TV | Tagged: ABC, disney, jimmy kimmel

Jimmy Kimmel: Nexstar Joins Sinclair, Will Continue to Preempt Show

Despite Jimmy Kimmel Live! returning to ABC tonight, Nexstar announced that it would not be bringing back the late-night talk show.

Despite The Walt Disney Company's ABC making the decision to bring back Jimmy Kimmel  Live! on Tuesday night, Nexstar announced that it is joining Sinclair in continuing to preempt Jimmy Kimmel's late-night talk show. "Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: NXST), today announced that the company's owned and partner television stations affiliated with the ABC Television Network will continue to preempt 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!," read the statement that was released by the company on Tuesday morning.

The statement continued, "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. 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."

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) head Brendan Carr criticized Kimmel's comments regarding Donald Trump supporters and the late conservative podcaster and adviser Charlie Kirk during an interview the day after Kimmel's monologue. In addition, Carr urged station owners to take action against the late-night host if Disney/ABC was unwilling. Shortly after, Nexstar and Sinclair, owners of a large number of ABC stations, announced that they would be pre-empting the late-night talk show for the foreseeable future.

"Beginning Tuesday night, Sinclair will be preempting 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' across our ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming. Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show's potential return," read the statement that was released by Sinclair on Monday:

"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," Disney said in an official statement on Monday, announcing Kimmel's return. "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."

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