Nexstar Pulls Jimmy Kimmel in Major Markets
Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show has been pulled from Nexstar Media Group’s ABC
affiliates “for the foreseeable future” after his remarks on the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
The move fragments the audience, with ABC-owned stations in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago still airing it.
On Monday, Kimmel mocked flag-lowering for Kirk and compared Donald Trump’s response to
“how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish.”
Backlash surged, and FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr warned stations about a “pattern of news distortion.”
By Wednesday, Nexstar dropped the show. Trump cheered the move, calling Kimmel a “loser.”
Though Carr raised licensing concerns, the FCC rarely punishes political satire.
Affiliates, however, control what airs locally. As one analyst noted,
this is “less Washington, more the business relationship between a network and its station groups.”
Advertisers and free-speech advocates are watching closely. For viewers, Kimmel now airs in some cities, disappears in others, and thrives online.
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