Kimmel off the air on three NC Stations

Nexstar & Sinclair won’t air Kimmel on ABC stations. Sinclair has 3 NC affiliates; Nexstar has none in the state.

Jimmy Kimmel Live! Banner in Hollywood is Creative Commons via Flickr user Jeff Christiansen

Two of the country’s largest broadcast groups, Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group, confirmed they will not be airing Jimmy Kimmel Live! on their ABC stations across the country.

Last week after the same two groups announced they would be preempting Kimmel, ABC/Disney stopped production and airing of the show.

“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,” Disney said in statement on Monday. “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.”

Sinclair owns three ABC affiliates across North Carolina. Nexstar does not own or operate any ABC affiliates in the state.

WLOS (ABC 13) — Asheville

WXLV (ABC 45) — Winston-Salem

WCTI (ABC 12) — Greenville

On Monday night, Sinclair said Kimmel’s show won’t air across the 38 ABC stations it owns or opperates.

“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,” said the company.

None of the North Carolina stations have issued public comments on Kimmel, but their Facebook pages have numerous comments with calls to bring him back. At the same time, online groups are calling for boycotts of local advertisers who air on those stations.

On Tuesday morning, Nexstar, the nation’s largest TV operator joined Sinclair in announcing that its 32 local affiliates won’t air Kimmel.

“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. “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.”

Jimmy Kimmel sparked controversy last week, drawing criticism from FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr and others nationwide over remarks about the Charlie Kirk assassination.

“Kimmel off the air on three NC Stations” was originally published on www.carolinajournal.com.