Jimmy Kimmel may be returning to late night television soon, but his show will not air on nearly 70 ABC affiliate stations owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group or Nexstar Media Group.
Sinclair, in a statement, said it will be "preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live! across our ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming," starting Tuesday night, the eve of Kimmel's return following the late-night host's suspension over his comments on Charlie Kirk's death.
"Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return," the statement said.
The local station owner had previously demanded that Kimmel apologize to Kirk’s family and make a donation to the slain activist's organization, Turning Point USA.
In a similar move, the next morning, on Sept. 23, Nexstar announced its owned and partner television stations "affiliated with ABC Television Network will continue to preempt 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!'"
