In an absolutely huge statement that came out in the wake of ABC announcing that Jimmy Kimmel’s show would be indefinitely pre-empted, or essentially cancelled for an indefinite period of time, because of horrid remarks he made about Charlie Kirk, one of the biggest ABC broadcasters announced that it would be airing a tribute to Mr. Kirk in place of Kimmel’s program, and is demanding he donate to TPUSA and the Kirk family.
That ABC broadcaster is Sinclair Broadcast Group, which operates 30 ABC affiliates across the country. It announced on the night of Wednesday, September 17, shortly after the Kimmel firing, that it would air a special “in remembrance of Charlie Kirk” after ABC and its corporate owner, Disney, decided to pull “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” off the air indefinitely.
As background, Sinclair, in announcing its refusal to air Kimmel’s show, was joining Nexstar, another owner of ABC affiliates. Nexstar made the first statement on the matter, announcing that it would refuse to air Kimmel’s show because of the comments he made about Kirk. Near-immediately afterward, Disney yanked the show, and then Sinclair made its demands.
Beginning its statement, which was posted to X on Wednesday night, Sinclair began by noting that it is the largest ABC broadcast group in America and that it objects strongly to Kimmel’s comments about Mr. Kirk, saying, “Sinclair, the nation’s largest ABC affiliate group, objects to recent comments made by Mr. Kimmel concerning the assassination of Charlie Kirk.”
Continuing, the Sinclair statement noted that it would not be airing Jimmy Kimmel’s show, one of the moves that prompted ABC to suspend production of it. It said, “As discussed with ABC earlier today, Sinclair decided to indefinitely preempt ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ beginning tonight. Following these discussions, ABC has suspended production of ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!'”
That’s when it got to the really big news, which is that its campaign against Kimmel is set to continue for a long time, and that it will be airing a remembrance of Mr. Kirk in Kimmel’s time slot. It said, “Sinclair’s ABC stations will air a special in remembrance of Charlie Kirk this Friday, during Jimmy Kimmel Live’s timeslot. The special will also air across all Sinclair stations this weekend. In addition, Sinclair is offering the special to all ABC affiliates across the country.
Building on that, it noted that it won’t air the show again until ABC commits to better standards regarding accountability and professional conduct, so as to no longer place broadcasters like Sinclair at risk. It said, “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.”
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Then, getting to its calls for donations and apologies from Kimmel, Sinclair added, in quite epic news, “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.”
Concluding, Sinclair returned to the matter of airing Kimmel, and said that it will not air Kimmel’s show again until ABC has made major changes. It said, “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.”
Sinclair Vice Chairman Jason Smith, commenting on the matter, said, “Mr. Kimmel’s remarks were inappropriate and deeply insensitive at a critical moment for our country. We believe broadcasters have a responsibility to educate and elevate respectful, constructive dialogue in our communities. We appreciate FCC Chairman Carr’s remarks today and this incident highlights the critical need for the FCC to take immediate regulatory action to address control held over local broadcasters by the big national networks.”
Watch Democrats freak out over the firing here: