Sinclair Won't Air Jimmy Kimmel's Return on Its 38 ABC Stations

[totodeinhere]

Last edited Mon Sep 22, 2025, 07:26 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: Hollywood Reporter

Jimmy Kimmel may be returning to ABC Tuesday night, but his show will remain dark in a large swath of the U.S., with Sinclair Broadcast Group saying that it will preempt the show.

“Beginning Tuesday night, Sinclair will be preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live! across our ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming,” the company said in a statement Monday. “Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return.”

The Walt Disney Co. said Monday that Kimmel would return to the air after his nearly week-long suspension.

Read more: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/sinclair-preempt-jimmy-kimmel-live-return-abc-1236377475/

---

This comes as no surprise. Sinclair is totally right wing. Nexstar, which also announced that they would preempt Jimmy's show has not weighed in yet as far as I know.

[no_hypocrisy]

1. It's their profits to lose . . . . .

[FakeNoose]

52. Everyone should check their local listings

Some individual stations will decide at the last minute whether to air the show or not.

I can say for sure that WTAE in Pittsburgh will air Jimmy Kimmel tonight. However WTAE is owned by Hearst, not Sinclair. I would imagine that local station managers will show Kimmel if they receive enough requests from viewers. Phone calls and emails do work!

[The Grand Illuminist]

62. WPGH Fox affiliate is owned by Sinclair.

nt

[John Coktosten]

2. No surprise here

A big reason why rural voters are so vehemently right wing is because of Sinclair. Their radio and TV stations have existed in what is essentially a media desert for the last 40 years. All the people hear there is right wing propaganda. Refer to the Telecommunications Act of 1996 which allowed the consolidation of media sources.

[berniesandersmittens]

6. Welcome to DU

[John Coktosten]

55. Thank you!

[karynnj]

9. The first I had ever heard of them is when they

broadcasted stuff produced with the Swiftboat liars in 2004

[Du916]

30. During the next administration

The FCC should split up Sinclair, and Murdoch’s holding. These entities are far too concentrated, which stifles the expression of differing opinions.

[samsingh]

32. i keep wondering why progressive billionnaires don't buy stations themselves

conservatives have done it and are destroying free media

[Layzeebeaver]

41. This

I wonder the same

[Layzeebeaver]

42. This

I wonder the same

[PSPS]

37. Sinclair owns all the ABC affiliates in my neck of the woods ...

... which includes at least 3 large cities with multi-million populations each.

[RainCaster]

43. Seattle is no media desert

But we are a victim of Sinclair. I will be calling everyone of their local advertisers and telling them I won't do business with then until they stop doing business with Sinclair. Mutha fuckers

[SergeStorms]

59. TV and radio stations.....

Sinclair and Clear Channel gobbled up every local TV and radio station they could, starting in the mid to late 90s. Clear Channel spun-off their media holdings to "iHeartMedia" which is still in operation. They're both right-wing propaganda fronts and are a huge reason so many people are misinformed to this very day. Ever wonder where your local fascists hang out and comment on the news of the day? Just look at any of their 'comments' sections at the end of any internet media source they own. It's nothing but red-meat fascism, wall to wall.

[Lovie777]

3. There's always a way to see his show......

[BumRushDaShow]

4. Here is a list of the Sinclair-owned stations

https://sbgi.net/tv-stations/

And a note from Media Matters (who the have viciously attacked) a few years ago - Sinclair's National Desk, which frequently airs conservative misinformation, is expanding to a nighttime broadcast

[Wiz Imp]

13. To be Clear, That Media Matters is NOT a map of Sinclair's ABC affiliates.

Nor does it include all of Sinclair's stations (for example, they own several stations in Montana, but they are not shown on the map. The link shown in that post shows a map of the locations of all their stations.

The media matters map is just the locations of those affiliates who air Sinclair's propaganda news program in the mornings.

[BumRushDaShow]

17. The link was from 4 years ago (2021) - which was NOTED was from "a few years ago"

The map that Sinclair has is at the link included in the post FOR their website (that I didn't want to go through the trouble of doing a screenshot of since it doesn't directly copy) is there for people to look at.

Reading is Fundamental.

[LiberalArkie]

49. KATV in Little Rock is Sinclair and it is amazing that "The National Desk" is not airing here.

[Wild blueberry]

5. Sinclair, go fuck yourself

That is all.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

7. Sinclair is about to get a lesson in how (un)popular news is with late night viewers

1) It's popular ... if delivered in an entertaining way and goes into things that dull boring late night Sinclair news broadcasts don't dare.

2) Do viewers really want hate-tinged Sinclair news late night before dropping off to sleep? Some (few?) will.

3) "Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return." They haven't closed the door but they are dragging their feet, maybe for concessions or a price of some kind.

4) They have the finger in the wind or up someone's orifice and they are sensing, measuring, assessing conditions including public reactions, investor reactions, legal advice, ratings, advertiser mutterings and the body temperature of orange people.

[Bengus81]

10. Last Friday when they dropped their Kirk "special" to air in Kimmel's old spot.

I never did see what they ran in it's place but I laughed my ass off that they knew it would be a ratings BUST. MONEY is everything to those FUCKS,even if they had to throw Kirk under the bus.

[joanbarnes]

8. DU'ers, please post for all.

I can only get Sinclair. I have often watched you tube Kimmel posts here the next day.

[Bengus81]

11. Try finding it on You Tube the next day. I heard at one time they had 25M subscribers

to their show.

[bagimin]

12. Condolences

[TexasTowelie]

31. I've posted video clips from the show on DU since 2017.

I'll post the monologue and other pertinent video clips from the show during the night.

[truthisfreedom]

14. People can watch the monologue on YouTube

As well as some other segments/interviews. I get enough from the monologue!

[C_U_L8R]

15. They'll be back when they see the ratings pop.

A network that shuns viewers, advertisers and talent for wackadoodle rightwing ideology won’t be around very long.

[C Moon]

16. But Fox "News" is just fine. :/

[groundloop]

18. Well crap, I live in Sinclair hell and still won't be able to watch Kimmel.

At least I'll be able to let off a little steam by writing my local station.

[tinymontgomery]

25. Yea, me too. Oh well, I have a good book that I'll be reading

at that time.

[travelingthrulife]

54. Make certain to also write Sinclair itself. Getting rid of Sinclair is as important as

FINALLY getting some of the radio waves in liberal control.

Where are all our rich people?

[BigmanPigman]

19. Can we boycott Sinclair?

I am not familiar with broadcasting companies but isn't this just continuing the BS? If they do not show Kimmel, which stations can Americans boycott? Is Sinclair a station or a conglomerate of media?

[IzzaNuDay]

35. You can notify whatever businesses advertise on Sinclair

you won’t be using their services as long as they advertise on. Sinclair network.

What I saw on Reddit— someone wrote the names of the local companies advertising on Sinclair to write/call them they are boycotting their business until
they stop advertising on a Sinclair station.

[mwooldri]

44. If your ABC station is a Sinclair one...

A couple of things that can be done...

1. Call the station, advise them you're disappointed at their decision to preempt Kimmel.

2. If you get your station via cable, satellite or a streaming service call them to advise of your disappointment and ask them to carry an ABC affiliate from a nearby market, if it's not also Sinclair or Nexstar owned. Or ask if they have an out of market package.

3. If you have an antenna, especially an outdoor one, see if you receive channels from other main cities. Where we are in eastern Greensboro we're able to receive channels from Raleigh and Roanoke. Our local ABC affiliate is a Sinclair station. The station in Raleigh is owned by ABC.

[Mblaze]

20. Replacing it with Sebastian Gorka?

[ancianita]

21. Pretty sure this a business decision, & Sinclair knows that they can lose their hundreds of licenses through the FCC/

This is not about Kimmel. This is about what Carr and Trump will do to their licenses they allow the broadcast of Kimmel.

ABC doesn't have a broadcast license. Sinclair is the major radio & television license holder.

[mwooldri]

45. ABC does own some broadcast licenses.

8 of them ... Including the big ones WABC and KABC.

[BonnieJW]

22. My abc affiliate is Sinclair

I hope youtube will show it

[BidenRocks]

23. Here ya go

Sinclair, Inc., doing business as Sinclair Broadcast Group, is a publicly traded American telecommunications conglomerate that is controlled by the descendants of company founder Julian Sinclair Smith.
Source:
Wikipedia

[Pas-de-Calais]

24. I'm in STL ABC Affiliate

Where can I go to see Kimmel Tuesday nite?

[Klarkashton]

26. Fuck those assholes. See it on YouTube..

Disney my ass.

[sakabatou]

27. Sinclair? Not surprised.

[Queso Delicioso]

28. Good thing there's such a thing as YouTube

Sinclair can have fun being the next incarnation of AM radio. The rest of the world is moving on.

[Initech]

29. Fuck you Sinclair!

[LudwigPastorius]

33. Are they just going to show the Charlie Kirk Memorialgasm over and over on a loop?

[totodeinhere]

61. They were showing reruns of Family Feud in Jimmy's time slot in my area. n/t

[Historic NY]

34. Buy a Roku and stream it

or go to You Tube. You can bypass them

[HighFired49]

36. Nexstar is preempting his show in Oklahoma City

with a rerun of their nightly news on our local ABC affiliate. Screw 'em.

[summer_in_TX]

38. I wondered what Nexstar would do.

Thanks for this.

At least it sounds like it is only one of their more-than-20 ABC affiliates.

Oklahoma probably pressed for the boycott.

[SunSeeker]

39. Call Sinclair's advertisers and say you won't purchase their products if they run ads on Sinclair stations.

It's money (Disney+/Hulu cancelations) that made ABC/Disney put Kimmel back on air.

[SunSeeker]

40. Call Sinclair's advertisers and say you won't purchase their products if they run ads on Sinclair stations.

It's money (Disney+/Hulu cancelations) that made ABC/Disney put Kimmel back on air.

[otchmoson]

47. Google told me this

Sample letter protesting Sinclair's censorship with advertiser warning
[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[Your City, State, Zip]
[Your Email]
[Your Phone Number]
[Date]
Sinclair Broadcast Group
10706 Beaver Dam Road
Hunt Valley, MD 21030
Subject: Protest of Sinclair's censorship of Jimmy Kimmel Live! and intent to contact advertisers
To the Management of Sinclair Broadcast Group,
I am writing to express my profound disappointment and outrage regarding Sinclair's decision to censor Jimmy Kimmel Live! This action represents a blatant disregard for journalistic integrity and free speech, and it sets a dangerous precedent for corporate control over content that does not align with your political agenda.
I find it unacceptable that a media company would use its corporate power to silence a comedian for expressing his opinion. This is not simply a content dispute; it is an act of censorship aimed at punishing a program for speech with which you disagree. As a viewer, this destroys my trust in your network as an independent and reliable source of news and entertainment.
I will be actively boycotting all Sinclair-owned stations and their programming. Furthermore, I intend to take my protest a step further. I will be compiling a list of your most prominent local and national advertisers from the Sinclair-owned stations in my area, [City, State]. I will inform these advertisers that I, along with many other concerned consumers, will be boycotting their products and services until they cease supporting your network's actions. I will also be encouraging others online and in my community to join this boycott.
Advertisers are essential to your revenue stream, and I believe they should be aware that their dollars are funding an organization that engages in corporate censorship. I urge you to reverse your decision and reinstate Jimmy Kimmel Live! immediately. Be aware that your continued actions will be met with organized consumer pushback that will directly impact your financial bottom line.
Sincerely,
[Your Signature]
[Your Name Printed]
Tips for carrying out your protest
• Keep a list: Maintain a list of advertisers and their contact information.
• Use social media: Engage with your protest on social media and tag the advertisers and Sinclair in your posts to increase visibility and pressure.
• Stay professional: When contacting advertisers, be polite and firm. Explain your rationale and state your intent to boycott their products unless they reconsider their advertising with Sinclair.
• Track your progress: Keep an eye on any advertiser responses or changes in their ad placements.

[otchmoson]

48. You can also do this

Google "Sinclair group" and your city.
This should provide you other contact information (local phone numbers, e-mails, etc.) I'm now looking for a way to determine advertisers and THEIR contact information and sample letter.

[AKwannabe]

46. Well

Fuck them, then!
To the eclipse moon!🌙

[Emile]

50. Viewers need to go after the advertisers.

[Bengus81]

65. Sinclair like Disney only understand MONEY. Nothing else matters to either of them

Call advertisers,start a boycott of advertisers..........

[dem4decades]

51. Hopefully no one here will watch any Sinclair station, especially their news, even the local news.

[murielm99]

53. It looks like the Rockford IL station will not be airing it.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

56. Sinclair wants Kimmel to make donation to Turning Point

That is really arrogant and stupid

UPDATE: Sinclair is NOT going to broadcast Jimmy Kimmel, even though ABC is resuming production.

Sinclair has demanded that Kimmel personally donate to Turning Point USA, a right-wing political organization.

David Smith, executive chairman of Sinclair, donated 250K to Turning Point USA last year.

— Judd Legum (@juddlegum.bsky.social) 2025-09-23T00:19:15.180Z

Link to tweet

[totodeinhere]

57. Now Nexstar has joined in the boycott.

Last edited Tue Sep 23, 2025, 12:13 PM - Edit history (1)

So the show will be seen on less than half of television stations in the country. What a shame.

[mackdaddy]

58. All these individual stations have to renew their FCC license and you can file a petition againts that.

Not that these complaints will stop it, but will throw a significant monkey wrench into the process. Stemming free speach seems like a valid complaint against the public good.

https://www.fcc.gov/media/radio/public-and-broadcasting#PARTICIPATION
Public Participation in the Licensing Process

Renewal Applications. You can submit a protest against a station’s license renewal application. Before its expiration, each station licensee must broadcast a series of announcements stating when its license expires, the filing date for the renewal application, the date by which formal petitions against the renewal must be filed, and how to obtain a copy of the application. Petitions to deny the application must be filed by the first day of the last full calendar month before the expiring license term. (For example, if the license expires on December 1, we must receive any petition at our Washington, D.C. headquarters by the end of the day on November 1.) Please note that a complaint submitted through the “File a Consumer Complaint” link on the FCC’s website will NOT be treated as a petition to deny or informal objection against a station’s license renewal application. Rather, a petition to deny or informal objection against a station’s license renewal application must either be filed electronically in the FCC’s electronic database for that application, or by mail.

Broadcast licenses generally expire on a staggered basis, by state, with most radio licenses expiring between October 1, 2019, and August 1, 2022, and most television licenses expiring between October 1, 2020, and August 1, 2023, one year after the radio licenses in the same state. Before you file a petition to deny an application, you should check our rules and policies to make sure that your petition complies with our procedural requirements. For a more complete description of these procedures and requirements, see https://www.fcc.gov/media/television/broadcast-television-license-renewal for television for television, and https:www.fcc.gov/media/radio/broadcast-radio-license-renewal for radio. Alternatively, you can also file an informal objection, which has fewer procedural requirements, often takes the form of a simple letter, and will be considered if received at any time before we either grant or deny the application. Instructions for filing informal objections can be found at https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/filing-informal-complaint.

[totodeinhere]

63. With Trump controlling the FCC I doubt if that would do any good.

Sorry to throw cold water on your good suggestion. If anything with Trump appointees controlling the FCC it will probably be a force for trouble.

[mackdaddy]

64. I agree with this corrupt administration, but it will cause them extra issues at renewal time.

And that may be during future administrations.

Unfortunately there is very few ways to push back against these mass station owners. This might at least give them a kick in the shin.

[Scalded Nun]

60. I have no clue as to any legal issues that would surface to this suggestion, but here goes

If Sinclair I going to block Kimmel, then why does ABC/Disney play hardball and sever their affiliation. 'You do not air our shows...go find someone else to affiliate with'. If that cannot be contractually done, then inform Sinclair that when the contract period ends they will be cut loose.

I hate Sinclair anyway. I hate Nasty people.

[ProfessorGAC]

66. There Is No Principled Stance Here

If viewership was high & the show was highly profitable in those markets, they'd be running the show.
They can now, with little financial impact, pretend it's about "what's right".
It's not.