NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Sinclair Broadcast Group is bringing Jimmy Kimmel\u2019s late-night show<\/a> back to its ABC affiliate stations on Friday night, ending a dayslong TV blackout for dozens of cities across the U.S. over remarks the comedian made in the wake of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s killing<\/a>.<\/p>\n That means \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!\u201d will return to Sinclair’s local TV markets from Seattle to Washington, D.C. But blackouts may continue in other parts of the country. Nexstar, another media company that has preempted Kimmel’s show on its ABC affiliates, has yet to announce a similar return.<\/p>\n Disney-owned ABC suspended Kimmel on Sept. 17, following threats of potential repercussions from the Trump-appointed head of the Federal Communications Commission. Sinclair also condemned the host \u2014 confirming that it would stop airing the show the same day.<\/p>\n The Maryland-based broadcast giant, which is known for conservative political content<\/a>, called on Kimmel at the time to apologize to Kirk\u2019s family \u2014 and taking it a step further, asked him to \u201cmake a meaningful personal donation\u201d to Turning Point USA, the nonprofit that Kirk founded.<\/p>\n On the day Kirk was killed, Kimmel shared a message of support for Kirk\u2019s family and other victims of gun violence on social media, which he reiterated during his Tuesday return to ABC. He had also called the conservative activist\u2019s assassination a \u201csenseless murder\u201d prior to being taken off air.<\/p>\n Kimmel\u2019s original comments didn\u2019t otherwise focus on Kirk. He instead lambasted President Donald Trump and his administration\u2019s response to the killing. The comedian did not apologize on Tuesday<\/a>, but did say \u201cit was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man\u201d and acknowledged that to some, his comments \u201cfelt either ill-timed or unclear or maybe both.\u201d<\/p>\n He also used a blend of humor and pointed messages to emphasize the importance of free speech.<\/p>\n Even after Disney brought Kimmel back to its national airways, both Sinclair and Nexstar continued to preempt the show.<\/a> Nexstar did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment from The Associated Press following Sinclair’s decision to end its blackout.<\/p>\n New episodes of the show air Monday through Thursday. Friday night\u2019s rerun will be of Tuesday\u2019s show \u2014 so viewers of Sinclair stations can see Kimmel’s emotional return to the air.<\/p>\n In its statement Friday, Sinclair pointed to its “responsibility as local broadcasters to provide programming that serves the interests of our communities, while also honoring our obligations to air national network programming.\u201d<\/p>\n The company, which operates 38 ABC-affiliated stations<\/a>, added that it had received \u201cthoughtful feedback from viewers, advertisers and community leaders representing a wide range of perspectives,\u201d and noticed \u201ctroubling acts of violence,” referencing the shooting into the lobby of a Sacramento station<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThese events underscore why responsible broadcasting matters and why respectful dialogue between differing voices remains so important,\u201d Sinclair added.<\/p>\n As a result of Sinclair and Nexstar’s boycott, viewers in cities representing roughly a quarter of ABC’s local TV affiliates had been left without the late-night program on local TV. The blackouts escalated nationwide uproar around First Amendment protections \u2014 particularly as the Trump administration and other conservatives police speech after Kirk\u2019s killing<\/a>. They also cast a spotlight on political influence in the media landscape, with critics lambasting companies that they accuse of censoring content.<\/p>\n Ahead of his suspension, Kimmel took aim at the president and his \u201cMAGA gang\u201d of supporters for their response to Kirk’s killing, which Kimmel said included \u201cfinger-pointing\u201d and attempts to characterize the alleged shooter as \u201canything other than one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n These remarks angered many supporters of Kirk \u2014 as well as FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, who accused Kimmel of appearing to \u201cdirectly mislead the American public\u201d with his remarks about the man accused of the killing. Ahead of Kimmel\u2019s suspension, Carr warned that Disney and ABC\u2019s local affiliates could face repercussions if the comedian was not punished.<\/p>\n He later applauded Sinclair, as well as Nexstar, for their decisions to preempt the show.<\/p>\n