Nexstar revealed today that it isn’t ready to bring back Jimmy Kimmel to their ABC affiliate stations, saying that his show would continue to be preempted until they can get assurances from Disney that his show “reflects and respects the diverse interests of the communities we serve”.
Here’s more from CNBC:
Nexstar Media Group said Wednesday it is continuing to evaluate whether it will bring “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” back to its ABC-affiliate stations, a day after the late night show returned to the Disney-owned network.
Nexstar’s broadcast TV stations affiliated with ABC did not air Kimmel’s return to late night on Tuesday.
“Nexstar is continuing to evaluate the status of ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ on our ABC-affiliated local television stations, and the show will be preempted while we do so,” Nexstar said in a statement. “We are engaged in productive discussions with executives at The Walt Disney Company, with a focus on ensuring the program reflects and respects the diverse interests of the communities we serve.”
Nexstar, along with fellow station owner Sinclair
, said it would preempt Kimmel when Disney returned the show to broadcast on Tuesday, leaving customers in many markets unable to watch the show on their local station.
A Sinclair representative on Wednesday referred CNBC to its statement on Monday, which said the company’s stations would be preempting the show and that “discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return.”
Two of the largest broadcast station owners, Nexstar and Sinclair together own about 70 ABC affiliate stations in the U.S.
CNBC said that Kimmel mentioned being preempted last night, saying it’s not a situation he’s happy with:
The comedian addressed the situation during his monologue Tuesday.
“We are still on the air in most of the country, except, ironically, from Washington, D.C., where we have been preempted,” Kimmel said after a commercial break. “After almost 23 years on the air, we’re suddenly not being broadcast in 20% of the country, which is not a situation we relish.”
Good for Nexstar and Sinclair, for pushing Disney on this after Kimmel’s outrageous comments. His non-apology show clearly wasn’t enough to appease many. But it was more than enough for the media to fawn over, as we all knew they would.