Sinclair opts against airing Charlie Kirk tribute on broadcast TV

ABC affiliates owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group opted against airing its much-publicized Charlie Kirk tribute special on Friday night. The broadcasting conglomerate owns the most ABC affiliates in the country but is best known—until last week anyway—for its “must-run” segments highlighting conservative viewpoints that air on local news networks across the country. These segments inspired a Last Week Tonight episode and a Deadspin video that became the most upvoted video in the history of Reddit, showcasing the homogenized views Sinclair offers. As reported last week, the local news giant became news itself after it announced it would be replacing the suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live! with a tribute to Charlie Kirk, who was shot dead during a campus speech earlier this month. Sinclair stipulated that they would keep Kimmel off its 40 affiliate channels “until formal discussions are held with ABC regarding the network’s commitment to professionalism and accountability.” Sinclair also wanted Kimmel to apologize to Kirk’s family and make a donation to his conservative youth outreach organization, Turning Point USA. In the end, Sinclair didn’t air the special, announcing nine minutes before it was set to air that it could be found on YouTube. Sinclair posted a statement stating it would “continue to air ABC network programming as scheduled in the late-night time period.” Viewers already tuning in were treated to an installment of Celebrity Family Feud instead.

Disney removed Kimmel from his post after he commented on Kirk’s murder during his monologue last Monday. “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,” the host said. Afterwards, FCC chair Brendan Carr implied that affiliates carrying Kimmel could lose their licenses if the host didn’t change his tune. This prompted affiliate group Nexstar, which is awaiting the FCC approval of a $6.2 billion purchase of the affiliate group Tegna, to “preempt” Kimmel’s show. Sinclair followed soon after.

Kimmel is the latest late-night host critical of the Trump administration to get kicked off the air. After Colbert’s firing at CBS in July, President Trump also signaled that Kimmel’s time was limited. “I absolutely love that Colbert’ got fired,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next.” Since Kimmel’s suspension began, ABC affiliates have leaned on Family Feud. Host Steve Harvey also made news this week, saying he quit stand-up because of “cancel culture.”