Jimmy Kimmel Won’t Return to All ABC Stations Despite ABC Lifting His Suspension

Jimmy Kimmel Live! will not air on all ABC affiliates when the late-night host returns on Tuesday following his controversial suspension.

Sinclair Broadcast Group, which has the largest number of ABC affiliates among station groups, including WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C., confirmed Monday that Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show would continue not to air on its 39 affiliate stations, but that talks with ABC are ongoing. On Tuesday, Nexstar, another of the largest owners of TV stations, said it, too, would not air the return of the show.

“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,” Sinclair said in a statement, as per Deadline.

Nexstar made a similar statement on Tuesday. “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,” the ownership group said. “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.”

ABC announced Monday that Kimmel would be returning to his usual late-night slot after a wave of backlash from people who criticized The Walt Disney Company for seemingly bowing to the wishes of President Donald Trump over Kimmel’s comments about late right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.

“Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country,” a Disney spokesperson said Monday. “It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive. We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday.”

Kimmel had said during his monologue last week, “We had some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and with everything they can to score political points from it.”

Soon after, ABC announced that Kimmel was being taken off the air for an indefinite period of time after facing objections from both Sinclair and Nexstar Media Group. “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,” the company said at the time.

Sinclair also called on the comedian to apologize to Kirk’s family and make “a meaningful personal donation to the Kirk Family and Turning Point USA.” The broadcast group also announced that it would air a tribute special dedicated to Kirk in Kimmel’s time slot on Friday. The special was ultimately moved to the company’s YouTube channel, as Sinclair’s affiliates instead ran a rerun of ABC’s Celebrity Family Feud.