BREAKING: Nexstar Joins Sinclair, Kimmel Remains off Their Air

Jorge Bonilla
September 22nd, 2025 8:55 PM

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UPDATE, September 23, 12:02 p.m. Eastern: NEXSTAR MAINTAINS ITS PREEMPTION OF JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE ACROSS ITS AFFILIATE STATIONS

As reported by Ben Mullin of The New York Times, Nexstar has just issued its statement announcing that they will continue to pre-empt Jimmy Kimmel Live! "pending assurance that all parties are committed to fostering an environment of respectful, constructive dialogue in the markets we serve."

IRVING, TX (Sept. 23, 2025)—Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: NXST), today announced that the company’s owned and partner television stations affiliated with the ABC Television Network will continue to preempt “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

We made a decision last week to preempt “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” following what ABC referred to as Mr. Kimmel’s “ill-timed and insensitive” comments at a critical time in our national discourse.  We stand by that decision pending assurance that all parties are committed to fostering an environment of respectful, constructive dialogue in the markets we serve.  In the meantime, we note that “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” will be available nationwide on multiple Disney-owned streaming products, while our stations will focus on continuing to produce local news and other programming relevant to their respective markets.

Thus, Nexstar joins Sinclair in maintaining its refusal to air Kimmel barring some significant show of contrition. As our own Curtis Houck notes, that's over half of ABC's affiliates refusing to carry its late-night offering. Pyrrhic victory, indeed.

Below is our original post on Sinclair's statement...

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Earlier today Disney/ABC announced the return of Trump-deranged late night host Jimmy Kimmel to his eponymously named show on Tuesday. But the return appears to be a partial one, as Sinclair has announced via X that their pre-emption remains in effect.

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.

It remains to be seen what is the end result of these negotiations, and whether the announced pre-emption holds before Kimmel returns to air. Sinclair previously announced that they were airing a special on Charlie Kirk’s life on Friday and in that Kimmel timeslot, before releasing it on YouTube. 

Sinclair is on the record demanding that Kimmel apologize for his statements and make “a meaningful personal donation to the Kirk Family and Turning Point USA.” But The New York Post reports that no such apology is forthcoming:

Jimmy Kimmel will be back on air Tuesday — but he won’t be apologizing for his false claim last week that Charlie Kirk’s alleged killer was part of the “MAGA gang,” The Post has learned. 

The $15 million-per-year ABC late-night host negotiated his return to the airwaves directly with Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger and his No. 2, Disney Entertainment Co-Chair Dana Walden, sources with knowledge of the situation told The Post.

Kimmel will address the controversy during his monologue on Tuesday though he will stop short of apologizing, the sources said. 

We’ll know more after Tuesday night once Kimmel’s moral lecture is in the wind. Will some vague expression of regret suffice for Sinclair, or do they hold out for the requested apology and personal donations? Time will tell.

 

This is a developing story. 

 

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