“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” is returning to the airwaves less than a week after Disney announced it had pulled the comedian’s late-night show off the air due to comments made about the death of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.
The ABC late-night show was “pre-empted indefinitely” by the network on Sept. 17, following comments Kimmel made on a Sept. 15 episode regarding the fatal shooting of the conservative commentator Charlie Kirk and apparent threats against ABC parent company Disney and network affiliates made by the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr.
“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 a Monday, Sept. 22, statement to USA TODAY. “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, Sept. 23.”
However, two of the largest media conglomerates in the U.S., Sinclair Broadcast Group and Nexstar Media Group, owners of roughly 70 TV stations affiliated with ABC across the country, recently announced that they would not be carrying the return of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on their ABC affiliates.
Nexstar, based in Irving, Texas, owns five TV stations with coverage across Iowa, including one ABC-affiliated station in western Iowa. Here’s what you need to know. Sinclair owns one station in eastern Iowa, but it’s not an ABC affiliate.
Which Iowa ABC station will not air the return of ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’?
Nexstar station KCAU-TV in Sioux City is an ABC affiliate and will not air ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ when it returns on Tuesday.
“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,” Nexstar said in a Tuesday news release. “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.”
Nexstar’s ABC stations, including KCAU, will instead feature “local news and other programming relevant to their respective markets.”
When does ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ return?
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” is set to return Tuesday, Sept. 23 at 10:35 p.m. CT on ABC.
ABC stations in Des Moines and the Quad Cities owned by Tegna, which Nexstar has announced plans to purchase, are expected to air the show. Other ABC stations in the state are also expected to resume broadcasts.
What did Jimmy Kimmel say about Charlie Kirk?
In his show’s opening monologue on Sept. 15, Kimmel said supporters of President Donald Trump were “desperately trying to characterize” Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old charged in Kirk’s murder, as “anything other than one of them.” The 57-year-old also criticized Trump for saying Democrats were responsible for Kirk’s death at a Utah campus on Sept. 10.
“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.
The suspension of Kimmel’s late-night show was applauded by Kimmel critics, including Trump, who called it “Great News for America.” On the other hand, Kimmel’s suspension has sparked widespread outrage among Kimmel supporters, First Amendment advocates and some of the world’s most prominent actors and musicians.
Over 400 celebrities, including Jennifer Aniston, Selena Gomez and Tom Hanks, endorsed an open letter from the American Civil Liberties Union in support of Kimmel after his suspension from ABC.
Cooper Worth is a service/trending reporter for the Des Moines Register.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Jimmy Kimmel’s return won’t air on this Nexstar ABC station in Iowa
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