Sinclair Broadcast Group, one of the country’s largest owners of local television stations, announced Friday it will end its preemption of Jimmy Kimmel Live! and will resume airing the popular late-night program on its ABC affiliate stations, effective Friday evening. The decision marks a significant reversal after a period of scrutiny and debate over the network’s programming choices, with Sinclair and fellow affiliate Nexstar, which also deplatformed Kimmel, finding themselves at the center of a nationwide freedom-of-speech debate.
Sinclair fired back at its critics, claiming its decision was “independent of any government interaction or influence,” and was, in fact, an exercise of free speech itself.
“Free speech provides broadcasters with the right to exercise judgment as to the content on their local stations,” Sinclair said, arguing, “[It’s] simply inconsistent to champion free speech while demanding that broadcasters air specific content.”
The highly unusual preemption began last week, when Sinclair pulled Jimmy Kimmel Live! from its ABC-affiliated stations—an action that drew widespread attention from both industry observers and the general public. Sinclair said in its Friday statement that over the past week, it had received “thoughtful feedback from viewers, advertisers, and community leaders representing a wide range of perspectives.” The company also said it witnessed troubling acts of violence, including a shooting at an ABC affiliate station in Sacramento, implying its removal of Kimmel was responsible in a climate of heightened tension and political violence. The company said such events “underscore why responsible broadcasting matters and why respectful dialogue between differing voices remains so important.”
