Sinclair gets nothing it asked for, puts Jimmy Kimmel back on anyway
Sinclair ends Kimmel blackout
Sorry, Brendan Carr: Sinclair and Nexstar stop preempting Kimmel on ABC affiliates.
Jimmy Kimmel hosting his show upon its return on September 23, 2025.
Credit:
Getty Images | Randy Holmes/Disney
Conservative broadcaster Sinclair is putting Jimmy Kimmel Live! back on the air. In a statement today, Sinclair said it will end its preemption of the show on its ABC affiliates starting tonight, even though ABC and owner Disney haven’t accepted its request for an ombudsman and other changes.
Facing the threat of lost advertising dollars, Sinclair said it “received thoughtful feedback from viewers, advertisers, and community leaders representing a wide range of perspectives.” Nexstar separately announced an end to its blackout of Kimmel shortly after this article published.
Sinclair said its decision to preempt Kimmel “was independent of any government interaction or influence.” Sinclair’s preempting of Kimmel last week came just as Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr said TV station owners that didn’t preempt the show could lose their FCC licenses.
Sinclair last week said it wouldn’t air Kimmel on its stations “until formal discussions are held with ABC regarding the network’s commitment to professionalism and accountability.” Sinclair at the time praised Carr for his stance against Kimmel and urged the FCC to “take immediate regulatory action to address control held over local broadcasters by the big national networks.”
Sinclair also announced it would air a special in remembrance of Kirk in Kimmel’s time slot, but then decided to put it on YouTube instead.
Ombudsman and other requests “not yet adopted”
Sinclair said it didn’t get anything it asked for in its discussions with ABC. The company’s statement today said:
In our ongoing and constructive discussions with ABC, Sinclair proposed measures to strengthen accountability, viewer feedback, and community dialogue, including a network-wide independent ombudsman. These proposals were suggested as collaborative efforts between the ABC affiliates and the ABC network. While ABC and Disney have not yet adopted these measures, and Sinclair respects their right to make those decisions under our network affiliate agreements, we believe such measures could strengthen trust and accountability.
Our decision to preempt this program was independent of any government interaction or influence. Free speech provides broadcasters with the right to exercise judgment as to the content on their local stations. While we understand that not everyone will agree with our decisions about programming, it is simply inconsistent to champion free speech while demanding that broadcasters air specific content.
Sinclair’s request for an ombudsman is reminiscent of Carr requiring an ombudsman at CBS in exchange for a merger approval. Carr described the CBS ombudsman as a “bias monitor.”
Kimmel was suspended by ABC after a monologue in which he said, “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 with everything they can to score political points from it.” Kimmel returned to the air Tuesday and criticized Carr’s attempts to suppress speech. Kimmel also said that “it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man,” or “to blame any specific group for the actions of what was obviously a deeply disturbed individual.”
Kimmel said that due to preemptions by Sinclair and Nexstar, the show was not being broadcast in 20 percent of the country. Nexstar, which is trying to complete a $6.2 billion purchase of Tegna and needs the FCC to relax its ownership-cap rule, hasn’t said when or if it will stop preempting Kimmel’s show. Sinclair operates 38 ABC affiliate stations, while Nexstar has 28.
Nexstar said on Wednesday that it will continue preempting Kimmel “pending assurance that all parties are committed to fostering an environment of respectful, constructive dialogue in the markets we serve.” We contacted Nexstar today and will update this story if it provides a response.
Update at 4:55pm ET: Nexstar announced today that it is also putting Kimmel back on the air starting tonight. “We have had discussions with executives at The Walt Disney Company and appreciate their constructive approach to addressing our concerns,” Nexstar said in a statement provided to Ars. Nexstar did not provide any details on the discussions, but said it “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.”
Sanders: Broadcasters shouldn’t cave to Trump
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) urged Nexstar to “immediately restore Jimmy Kimmel to viewers in Vermont and across the US,” and said that “decisions about what Americans watch shouldn’t be dictated by political pressure… Broadcasters should not cave in to an authoritarian-type president who can’t accept criticism.”
Carr took heat from both Democrats and Republicans after pressuring ABC to suspend Kimmel and threatening station licenses. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told NBC’s Meet the Press that Carr threatening Disney was “absolutely inappropriate,” and that “Brendan Carr has got no business weighing in on this.” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) compared Carr to a mafioso, saying his threat was “right outta Goodfellas.” Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) agreed with Cruz.
Carr tried to deny that he threatened to revoke TV licenses despite having made the threat in public. Carr said on a right-wing commentator’s podcast that licensed broadcasters airing Kimmel “are running the possibility of fines or license revocations from the FCC” if they “continue to run content that ends up being a pattern of news distortion.”
Carr remained defiant after ABC brought Kimmel back. “Democrats just keep digging themselves a deeper & deeper hole on Kimmel,” he wrote. “They simply can’t stand that local TV stations—for the first time in years—stood up to a national programmer & chose to exercise their lawful right to preempt programming.”
Kimmel said during his return show that it was “not a particularly intelligent threat to make in public. Ted Cruz said he sounded like a mafioso, although I don’t know. If you want to hear a mob boss make a threat like that, you have to hide a microphone in a deli and park outside in a van with a tape recorder all night long. This genius said it on a podcast.”
Jon is a Senior IT Reporter for Ars Technica. He covers the telecom industry, Federal Communications Commission rulemakings, broadband consumer affairs, court cases, and government regulation of the tech industry.
