ABC announced Monday that Jimmy Kimmel Live! will be returning after a brief suspension.
“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,” Disney said in a statement on Monday. “It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive. We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday.”
ABC was pressured by the FCC and station owners nationwide to suspend Jimmy Kimmel Live! after comments he made surrounding the death of Charlie Kirk were deemed inappropriate. The network abruptly pulled the plug on Wednesday which caused a wave of backlash from once-loyal followers.
The company reportedly lost more than $3 billion in the days that followed after fans called for a boycott of their streaming services, theme parks, cruise lines and more.
While ABC has come to an agreement with host Jimmy Kimmel for his show to return on Tuesday, some station owners are sticking to their guns.
Sinclair — who owns more than 20 ABC affiliates nationwide — announced they will not be showing the late night talk show.
Sinclair Will Pre-Empt ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’
“Beginning Tuesday night, Sinclair will be preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live! across our ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming,” the company said. “Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return.”
Sinclair Owns More Than 20 ABC Stations
The broadcast company owns 294 television stations across 89 markets throughout the United States.
These are the ABC stations that will not air Jimmy Kimmel Live!
- Abilene-Sweetwater, Texas
- Amarillo, Texas
- Birmingham, Alabama
- Champaign – Springfield – Decatur, Illinois
- Charleston – Huntington, West Virginia
- Charleston, South Carolina
- Chattanooga, Tennessee
- Columbus, Ohio
- Dayton, Ohio
- Eureka, California
- Florence – Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
- Greensboro – High Point – Winston Salem, North Carolina
- Greenville – Spartanburg, South Carolina / Asheville, North Carolina / Anderson, South Carolina
- Greenville-N.Bern-Washngton, North Carolina
- Lincoln – Hastings – Kearney, Nebraska
- Little Rock – Pine Bluff, Arkansas
- Macon, Georgia
- Mobile, Alabama / Pensacola, Florida
- Ottumwa, Iowa / Kirksville, Missouri
- Portland, Oregon
- Quincy, Illinois / Hannibal, Missouri / Keokuk, Iowa
- Roanoke – Lynchburg, Virgina
- Rochester, New York
- San Angelo, Texas
- Seattle – Tacoma, Washington
- St. Louis, Missouri
- Traverse City – Cadillac, Michigan
- Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Washington, DC
