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

[maxrandb]

This is why I don't celebrate ABC putting Kimmel back on.

It's also why the pressure on these Retrumplican Ball-licking media monopolies needs to be increased. It needs to be relentless! It needs to be in their face, at their local radio and TV stations, at their corporate boards, at their fucking company golf outings.

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

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.”

[newdeal2]

1. I don't think it will matter in the end

The show will go on without them. They will be losing viewers playing reruns instead of new shows. Eventually viewers or advertisers will demand a change and they’ll give in.

[Maru Kitteh]

4. Eventually they will cave and return, or lose their affiliation.

So I see all this as mostly for show. Affiliates can only reject X number of hours before they are in breach of contract.

It’s conservative virtue signaling. That’s all.

[onenote]

17. The FCC rules give stations very broad rights to preempt network content

and prohibit contracts that restrict the stations' from exercising those rights.

If they cave, it won't because of a breach of contract concern.

[Maru Kitteh]

21. Well good luck selling BigMacs if McDonald's won't sell you the patties.

Or the fries, or the sauce, and they make you take down their menus, signs and logos, etc . .

See what I mean here?

Affiliates are allowed by contract to preempt a limited number of hours during certain times and days - but not as much as they want, whenever the want, forever. Depending on the contract, they can maybe ride it out for a while till their mouth-breathing zero-attention-span viewers move on to something else then just go back to showing JK with minimal fuss. This seems the most likely scenario, imo.

[onenote]

23. Actually, affiliates are allowed by law to preempt network programming -- no limit on number of hours

It's not an entirely unrestricted power, but damn close to one.

See post #20.

[JI7]

2. How do they make money ?

Are they paid by Disney to air things ?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

5. Disney (ABC) is the content generator (producer) of Kimmel, so Sinclair pays Disney

Could even be conditions in the contract that Sinclair has to pay some base fee even if they skip an episode or five.

[JI7]

7. So they make money based on viewers ?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

10. Utimately & originally. Eyeballs are product advertisers buy fr stations, so stations need eyeball bait for eyeball trap

[onenote]

20. The FCC's rules limit such contract terms.

47 CFR 76.938(e) --Right to reject programs. No license shall be granted to a television broadcast station having any contract, arrangement, or understanding, express or implied, with a network organization which, with respect to programs offered or already contracted for pursuant to an affiliation contract, prevents or hinders the station from:

(1) Rejecting or refusing network programs which the station reasonably believes to be unsatisfactory or unsuitable or contrary to the public interest, or

(2) Substituting a program which, in the station's opinion, is of greater local or national importance.

While the first test would, imo, be hard for Sinclair to satisfy since it apparently is willing to air Kimmel if he makes an apology and gives a donation -- and therefore its decision isn't based on the content itself, the second test is so broad that I'm pretty sure that the FCC would rule in favor of Sinclair if it claims that the news content it is going to put on in place of Kimmel is "in the station's opinion" of greater local or national importance,

[Bernardo de La Paz]

22. Thanks for clarifying that. . . . . nt

[Bernardo de La Paz]

3. 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.

[maxsolomon]

6. The multi-decade, multi-trillion dollar effort to buy up and control American Media is now paying off.

They really took Nixon's resignation hard.

[a kennedy]

8. Heard sinclair is mostly in red areas, sorry conservative areas anyway so who cares. Oooops...

Unless you live in those areas...so sorry. I’m just so happy he’s back AND on my local channel.

[Sneederbunk]

12. Seattle and Portland are stuck with Sinclair ABC stations.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

19. And DC n/t

[berniesandersmittens]

9. Sinclair living up to their end of the bargain ...

Sinclair executive David Smith met with Donald Trump during the 2016 election year, in which he told the future president, "We are here to deliver your message."[180]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_Broadcast_Group

[Johonny]

11. Their audience will see it on streaming apps

Because broadcast TV is practically dead. ABC knows that. Jimmy does numbers online, that's why they want him back.

[Baitball Blogger]

13. Where is the best place to watch it live?

[Jacoby365]

14. Kimmel is available on YouTube daily for free

F*ck sinclair.

[Liberal In Texas]

15. Little known FCC reg about affiliates not running this show or that.

I've been out of the business for a few years, but I assume this hasn't changed.

If a station with a network affiliation preempts one of the networks show, another TV station of no affiliation or even another network affiliation can pick up and run the preempted show.

So, if an ABC affiliate doesn't want to run Kimmel, a CBS station can. Or an independent station.

I was working for a TV station when this was about to happen. When SNL first came out (I know, ancient history) the NBC station I worked for didn't want to run it in the time slot it has always since had. They wanted to delay it until midnight and run the local spook show and get all that nice local revenue. One of the other stations in the market got wind of this and contacted NBC about running SNL in its correct time slot. Legally, they would have been able to do this. Needless to say, there were a lot of phone calls between the network and the suits at the station. SNL went on in the (after the news) time slot and the spook show got moved to midnight.

I'm just wondering how many indies might want to pick up Kimmel if Sinclair sticks to its idiotic demands.

[onenote]

24. The problem is illustrated in the DC market.

Yes, if Sinclair preempts Kimmel, another DC market station arguably could seek to carry it. But here's the problem: media consolidation.
The other stations in the DC market are an NBC affiliate, owned by NBC, which already has Fallon on the Kimmel time slot and may not be interested in picking up Kimmel. A CBS affiliate, owned by Tegna, which is seeking to merge with Nexstar. A Fox affiliate, owned by Fox -- not going to be picking up Kimmel. And there are two "independent" -- non-network affiliated -- stations. One, channel 20, is owned by Fox. The other, channel 50, is owned by Nexstar.

So, not likely to find Kimmel on another DC broadcast station.

[Liberal In Texas]

25. You are so right.

Consolidation. One day there will be 3 or 4 companies that will own all of the TV stations. Congress one little change at a time (repubs) have let this happen.

[Demsrule86]

16. I don't get Sinclair where I live in Ohio...the day I do, news is gone.

[Emile]

18. Hopefully they'll lose advertising dollars.

[tulipsandroses]

26. Last night when I went to bed, 700K people had streamed Kimmel on Youtube - that was in less than an hour after it aired

This morning its up to over 6 million streams. Good googly moogly. When people change they don't usually go back so those affiliates may find that they end up losing viewers when they realize that I don't have to watch. Oh, and what else can I stream. They may have opened a can of worms and pushed more people to stream.

[samnsara]

28. love Zappa references! :)

[mucifer]

29. But streaming doesn't give them the profits they get on tv

[tulipsandroses]

30. That's my point. That these affiliates may end up regretting not showing Kimmel. People will find it elsewhere.

That may change viewer habits. Once people realize that they can watch it in other ways, that may change their viewing habits, and not just for Kimmel. So they may end up losing viewers for other shows, thus losing advertising dollars for shows they never intended to lose.

[FarPoint]

32. YouTube is where I watched it and was linked

here at my beloved DU....Thank You folks.

[samnsara]

27. KOMO in Seattle didnt air it.

#SinclairOutOfSeattle
#SOS

[FarPoint]

31. I don't know how to boycott Sinclair.....

I live in Dayton Ohio..... Help me understand my boycott steps with a local media corporation....

Still.... NO Jimmy Kimmel in Dayton, Ohio:
Yes, viewers in the Dayton, OH market would have been unable to watch Jimmy Kimmel Live! on the night of Tuesday, September 23, 2025, because their local ABC affiliate, which is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, preempted the show. While ABC reinstated Kimmel's show, Sinclair and Nexstar Media Group, two large owners of ABC affiliates, decided to continue preempting it in their markets.
Details on the Preemption:

Why it's blocked:
Sinclair and Nexstar decided to preempt the show on their stations, including the one in the Dayton market, due to Kimmel's controversial comments about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Where to watch:
Despite the local preemption, viewers could still watch the show on YouTube ......and if you have yet to cancel this, watch on Disney-owned streaming products like Hulu.

What's replacing it:
Sinclair replaced the show with local news programming on its affiliate stations.

[spanone]

33. Netstar won't broadcast it either.

Eff 'em.

[Cattledog]

34. Many big "Blue" city stations amongst their holdings

Ban won't last long.

[MrWowWow]

35. Boycott All Sinclair Station Advertisers..

Blackout the System

[doc03]

36. Nexstar carried a Suits rerun here. nt