Nexstar preempts Jimmy Kimmel show over Kirk assassination comments
‘The Big Money Show’ panel discusses ABC’s decision to pull Jimmy Kimmel’s show off the air after he made controversial comments about the Charlie Kirk assassination.
ABC sidelined late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel over his controversial comments about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk after Nexstar Media Group said it would preempt Kimmel’s show.
A spokesperson for ABC, which is owned by Disney, said in a statement on Wednesday that “Jimmy Kimmel Live will be preempted indefinitely,” following an announcement by one of its major broadcasting partners that it would stop airing Kimmel’s show.
Nexstar, the owner of 32 ABC affiliate stations, said Wednesday that it “strongly objects” to Kimmel’s comments and that it would preempt his show “for the foreseeable future beginning with tonight’s show.”
ABC said in a statement on Wednesday that “Jimmy Kimmel Live will be preempted indefinitely.” (Michael Le Brecht/Disney via Getty Images)
“Mr. Kimmel’s comments about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse, and we do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located,” Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar’s broadcasting division, said in a statement.
“Continuing to give Mr. Kimmel a broadcast platform in the communities we serve is simply not in the public interest at the current time, and we have made the difficult decision to preempt his show in an effort to let cooler heads prevail as we move toward the resumption of respectful, constructive dialogue,” Alford added.
What is Nexstar?
Nexstar Media Group is the largest local television broadcasting group in the U.S., with more than 200 owned or partner stations that serve 220 million people in 116 U.S. markets.
The company owns 75% of The CW, which is the fifth-largest broadcast network in the U.S. and is available in all U.S. households. Nexstar also owns NewsNation, a TV and digital news outlet, as well as digital political news outlet The Hill and multicast networks Antenna TV, Rewind TV and WGN Radio in Chicago.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NXST | NEXSTAR MEDIA GROUP | 206.40 | +0.48 | +0.23% |
| DIS | THE WALT DISNEY CO. | 114.86 | -1.24 | -1.07% |
DOZENS OF ABC STATIONS TO AIR CHARLIE KIRK TRIBUTE SPECIAL DURING JIMMY KIMMEL’S TIME SLOT
Last month, Nexstar announced a deal to acquire broadcast media company Tegna for $6.2 billion, which Nexstar said will help ensure the viability of local news and programming.
Nexstar noted that its station footprint overlaps with Tegna in 35 of Tegna’s 51 market areas, while also boosting its affiliate network in key election markets like Phoenix, Atlanta, Toledo, Ohio, and Portland, Maine, to increase political advertising revenue.
Nexstar’s acquisition of Tegna…
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