Sinclair is ending its preemption of Jimmy Kimmel‘s late-night show.
In a statement on Friday, Sept. 26, Sinclair announced that Jimmy Kimmel Live! will return to its ABC affiliates across the country that night, more than a week after it pulled the program off the air on its stations on Wednesday, Sept. 17.
“Our objective throughout this process has been to ensure that programming remains accurate and engaging for the widest possible audience,” the company’s statement reads. “We take seriously our responsibility as local broadcasters to provide programming that serves the interests of our communities, while also honoring our obligations to air national network programming.”
“Over the last week, we have received thoughtful feedback from viewers, advertisers, and community leaders representing a wide range of perspectives,” the statement continued, also noting the “troubling acts of violence” of the “despicable incident” regarding the shooting at an ABC affiliate station in Sacramento, California, on Friday, Sept. 19.Jimmy Kimmel.
“These events underscore why responsible broadcasting matters and why respectful dialogue between differing voices remains so important,” Sinclair’s statement noted.
Sinclair’s statement revealed it has had “ongoing and constructive discussions” with ABC and even “proposed measures to strengthen accountability, viewer feedback, and community dialogue, including a network-wide independent ombudsman.”
“These proposals were suggested as collaborative efforts between the ABC affiliates and the ABC network,” the statement explained. “While ABC and Disney have not yet adopted these measures, and Sinclair respects their right to make those decisions under our network affiliate agreements, we believe such measures could strengthen trust and accountability.”
PEOPLE has since learned that no editorial or content concessions were made on ABC or Disney’s behalf.
Sinclair also noted that its initial decision to preempt Kimmel’s show “was independent of any government interaction or influence.”
“Free speech provides broadcasters with the right to exercise judgment as to the content on their local stations,” it noted. “While we understand that not everyone will agree with our decisions about programming, it is simply inconsistent to champion free speech while demanding that broadcasters air specific content.”Glen Powell and Jimmy Kimmel on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’.
Sinclair ended its statement by saying it “remains committed to serving our communities with programming that reflects their priorities, earns their trust, and promotes constructive dialogue” and that it looks forward to “continuing to work with ABC to deliver content that serves a broad spectrum of our communities.”
Sinclair — and fellow broadcast company Nexstar — announced it would preempt Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Wednesday, Sept. 17, beginning with that evening’s episode due to Kimmel’s recent remarks about late conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.
This prompted ABC to announce it was “indefinitely” pulling the show off the air.
Kirk, a conservative commentator, was shot and killed during a speaking event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10 at the age of 31. A memorial was held for Kirk on Sunday, Sept. 21.
Kimmel’s comments that led to the show’s temporary removal from air pertained to Kirk and his accused killer, Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old charged with aggravated murder in connection with Kirk’s death.
“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,” he said during the Monday, Sept. 15, episode during his opening monologue. “In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.”Jimmy Kimmel on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’.
Kimmel then showed clips of President Donald Trump being asked about Kirk’s death, with one reporter offering him their condolences and asking how he’s holding up. The president responded by saying, “I think very good,” before he changed the subject to the construction of the new ballroom at the White House.
As the camera cut back to Kimmel, he said, “Yes, he’s at the fourth stage of grief: construction.”
“This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend,” Kimmel added. “This is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish, okay?”
Directly after Kirk’s death, Kimmel took to social media to send condolences to his family, saying, “Instead of the angry finger-pointing, can we just for one day agree that it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human? On behalf of my family, we send love to the Kirks and to all the children, parents and innocents who fall victim to senseless gun violence.”
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr praised both Nexstar, the largest local broadcast and digital media company in the U.S., and Sinclair, which boasts the nation’s largest ABC affiliate group, for their decision to pull Kimmel’s show in posts he shared to X.
Nexstar recently announced plans to acquire Tegna, a rival broadcast company, for more than $6 billion, a massive deal that would further consolidate the local television landscape and put Nexstar in 80% of America’s TV-owning households — despite current law permitting no more than 39% — according to a press release. The acquisition requires final approval from the Trump-controlled and Carr-run FCC.
Sinclair laid out a list of demands for Kimmel to meet before it would return Jimmy Kimmel Live! to the air, including him issuing “a direct apology to the Kirk family” and making a “meaningful personal donation to the Kirk Family and Turning Point USA,” Kirk’s nonprofit that advocates for conservative politics on high school, college and university campuses.Guillermo Rodriguez and Jimmy Kimmel on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’.
ABC announced on Monday, Sept. 22, that it would return Jimmy Kimmel Live! to the air.
“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. It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive,” the company’s statement read, adding that it decided to bring the show back after having “thoughtful conversations” with Kimmel in the days following his show’s suspension.
Following ABC’s decision to revive Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Sinclair and Nexstar both revealed they would continue preempting the show in their local markets. Again, Carr praised the broadcast companies for standing up to their network counterpart.
Kimmel’s big return saw the late-night host tearing up during an emotional monologue and slamming both Trump and the FCC while also crying over Kirk’s widow and saying he didn’t intend to “make light” of his murder.
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The show’s return episode resulted in a ratings surge as President Trump has threatened to “test ABC” for bringing Kimmel back. Disney shareholders have also demanded records to see if the company wrongfully bowed to Trump when suspending Kimmel.
Nexstar has not yet announced that it will air Jimmy Kimmel Live! on its ABC affiliates.
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