Nexstar Media Group will restore Jimmy Kimmel Live! to its 24 ABC affiliates beginning tonight, ending a preemption of the show over a joke by the host about slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
The move, announced Friday afternoon, followed a similar decision by Sinclair on Friday. Between the two station groups, about one-quarter of ABC’s total footprint was left without access to Kimmel. His show had also been sidelined by ABC for five days amid the firestorm stemming from the tossed-away joke during Kimmel’s monologue on September 17.
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“We have had discussions with executives at The Walt Disney Company and appreciate their constructive
approach to addressing our concerns,” Nexstar wrote. “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. We stand apart from cable television, monolithic streaming services, and national networks in our commitment – and obligation – to be stewards of the public airwaves and to protect and reflect the specific sensibilities of our communities. To be clear, our commitment to those principles has guided our decisions throughout this process, independent of any external influence from government agencies or individuals.”
Major markets that have gotten Kimmel back include Washington, D.C., Seattle, St. Louis, Nashville and Portland, OR.
Kimmel’s benching came hours after FCC chairman Brendan Carr openly threatened retaliation against Disney on a podcast and continued to go on the attack on social media. President Trump has gone after Kimmel repeatedly before, during and after his suspension. Most recently, he declared that he could pursue legal action against ABC and Disney for alleged violations of campaign finance laws related to having Kimmel on air.
After days of suspense and a broader societal discussion of freedom of speech and government regulation of the media in the Trump era, ABC opted to restore the show at the start of this week. Its first night back, on Tuesday, drew more than 6 million viewers even without the Sinclair and Nexstar affiliates, nearly four times its average audience.
Efforts to put alternate, locally produced programming in place of Kimmel’s show were unlikely to come anywhere close to the usual broadcast audience. Sinclair initially said it planned to run a special devoted to Kirk, but shifted it online and did not broadcast it on its stations.
The ad revenue brought in by Jimmy Kimmel Live! is not insignificant. The show had collected about $70 million in 2025 as of the date of the suspension. Even though stations get access to only a slice of the ad inventory on the show, it is still valuable real estate for the small and medium-sized businesses that are the lifeblood of local TV,
In its statement on Friday, Sinclair insisted that its decision to preempt the show was “independent of any government interaction or influence,” echoing a point that Nexstar has also made. Both companies have a vested interest in staying in the good graces of Trump and the FCC. Nexstar has proposed acquiring rival Tegna in a $6.2 billion deal that would blow through existing limits on TV station ownership. Disney’s own M&A activities, including selling 10% of ESPN to the NFL, are also going to require government approval.
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