“Beginning Tuesday night, Sinclair will be preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live! across our ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming.”
Sinclair Group, a media group that includes 38 ABC stations in US markets, has announced that it will not be airing "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" despite the reinstatement of the show by Disney.
A statement released Monday evening reads: "Beginning Tuesday night, Sinclair will be preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live! across our ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming. Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return."
Last week, ABC pulled the show "indefinitely" after Kimmel falsely suggested that Charlie Kirk's alleged assassin was MAGA.
The decision to preempt Kimmel with news programming puts pressure squarely on NexStar, another media group that has ABC stations in its roster.
Last week, when Kimmel made comments falsely suggesting that the suspect in Charlie Kirk's assassination was on the far-right, Sinclair demanded that the left-wing commentator apologize to Kirk's family.
"Sinclair will not lift the suspension of 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' on our stations until formal discussions are held with ABC regarding the network’s commitment to professionalism and accountability. Sinclair also calls upon Mr. Kimmel to issue a direct apology to the Kirk family.
"Furthermore, we ask Mr. Kimmel to make a meaningful personal donation to the Kirk Family and Turning Point USA. Regardless of ABC’s plans for the future of the program, Sinclair intends not to return 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' to our air until we are confident that appropriate steps have been taken to uphold the standards expected of a national broadcast platform," the organization said at the time.
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