Sinclair Broadcasting has announced it will not be airing “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on its ABC affiliates and will replace the show with news programming, even though ABC has lifted Kimmel’s suspension.
The Hunt Valley-based broadcasting giant controls 178 stations across the country, 30 of which are ABC affiliates. WMAR, the Baltimore-area ABC affiliate, is not owned by Sinclair Broadcasting, though the company does own the local Fox station, WBFF (Fox45).
After Kimmel’s remarks about Charlie Kirk’s shooter and President Donald Trump’s response to Kirk’s murder, FCC Chair Brendan Carr threatened ABC’s license. “This is a very, very serious issue right now for Disney,” Carr said on Wednesday, Sept. 17. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.” Disney owns ABC.
Soon after, Nexstar yanked “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and Sinclair followed suit. Capitulating to the pressure, ABC suspended Kimmel indefinitely, even though he likely hadn’t said anything actionable. There was nothing indecent or obscene, nor was there “broadcast news distortion,” given Kimmel’s role as a late-night comedian. Even the FCC’s website says “Expressions of opinion or errors stemming from mistakes are not actionable.”
Industry heavyweights decried the suspension, from fellow late-night hosts to actors and directors like Ben Stiller and Jean Smart. Protests sprang up outside ABC’s studio where the show was filmed. Money talks, though, and the serious backlash came in the form of cancellations by customers to Disney+, Hulu, ESPN, and other Disney-associated brands and services. In fact, the Disney+ cancellation page had crashed multiple times by Friday because of the number of people rushing to cancel their subscriptions.
ABC announced in a statement on Monday, Sept. 22 that Kimmel’s suspension was lifted, and the show would return on Tuesday, Sept. 23 after “having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy.”
Those thoughtful conversations were not enough for Sinclair, as the broadcaster said it would not be airing Kimmel’s show on Tuesday. Even before ABC lifted Kimmel’s suspension, Sinclair said it would not air the show until certain additional conditions were met. These demands included Kimmel apologizing to the Kirk family and making an unspecified donation to Turning Point organizations, which Charlie Kirk founded.
“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,” the company said.
David D. Smith, Sinclair’s executive chairman, bought The Baltimore Sun in January 2024, sending shockwaves through Maryland’s news media landscape. Smith announced new coverage priorities for the paper and his initial meeting with employees left them feeling confused and devalued.
The Smiths and Sinclair have been a presence in Baltimore and the surrounding area for years, with frequent op-eds in the Sun and multiple segments airing on their news stations promoting conservative causes and candidates. Smith’s family contributes significant amounts of money to Republican politicians and groups.
