Despite Disney’s decision to return “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” to ABC, viewers in Salt Lake City won’t see the show anytime soon.
Disney has brought back “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”, but Nexstar — which owns ABC4 in Salt Lake City — says it will keep airing local news in place of the program following the host’s Charlie Kirk comments.
Despite Disney’s decision to return “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” to ABC, viewers in Salt Lake City won’t see the show anytime soon.
Nexstar Media Group, which owns ABC4 and over 200 stations nationwide, announced Tuesday it is sticking with its decision to preempt the late-night talk show following the host’s remarks about the Charlie Kirk shooting.
“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,“ Nexstar said in a statement. ”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.”
The Walt Disney Company, which owns ABC, announced on Monday that it would bring back Jimmy Kimmel’s show after having “thoughtful conversations” with the host.
The decision to suspend production last week was made to “avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country,” Disney said in a statement on Monday that announced its decision to bring back the show.
While the show will be available on Disney-owned streaming platforms, Nexstar said its stations will continue to preempt the program in favor of local news and other programming tailored to their respective markets.
Sinclair Broadcast Group, another ABC affiliate owner that also owns Salt Lake City’s CBS affiliate, KUTV, announced Monday it will also continue to preempt the show.
“Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return,” the company said in a statement.
Both ABC affiliate owners suspended the show last week after Kimmel’s comments about the assassination of the conservative commentator at Utah Valley University earlier this month.
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