How Long Will Sinclair and Nexstar Keep Jimmy Kimmel Off the Air?

When Jimmy Kimmel returned to host Jimmy Kimmel Live! after a week-long suspension, millions of viewers were ready to tune in — but in more than 60 U.S. markets, they couldn’t. Two of the largest local TV station owners, Sinclair Broadcast Group and Nexstar Media Group, pulled the late-night talk show from their ABC affiliates, replacing it with late-night news programming.

For fans, this blackout felt like a slap in the face. For ABC and Disney, which produce the show, it may signal a brewing industry battle over who really controls what Americans get to watch.

The Boycott and Its Fallout

Sinclair and Nexstar’s decision came after Kimmel made controversial comments about the killer of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The move redirected many viewers to YouTube, where ABC quickly posted Kimmel’s monologue around midnight ET. Ironically, that made the episode the most-watched Jimmy Kimmel Live! clip of 2025 on YouTube — a digital win, but a TV loss.

On the surface, Sinclair and Nexstar say they’re acting out of concern for their communities, claiming Kimmel’s comments were offensive and out of step with their audiences. Behind the scenes, the situation is more complicated.

Politics, Power, and the FCC

FCC chairman Brendan Carr has reportedly been encouraging local TV stations to resist what he calls “liberal-leaning programming.” Carr even hinted that the agency might investigate Jimmy Kimmel Live! for “news distortion,” a move critics say amounts to government pressure to silence a TV host.

The timing isn’t accidental. Both Nexstar and Sinclair are pushing the FCC to lift its 39% ownership cap on TV stations. Nexstar, in particular, is waiting for approval of its $6.2 billion deal to acquire Tegna — something that requires FCC cooperation. Pulling Kimmel from their schedules may be an attempt to stay on Carr’s good side.

Critics see the blackout as a dangerous precedent, arguing it punishes speech simply because it’s unpopular with those in power. “This is about more than one talk show,” says Danilo Yanich, a media policy professor at the University of Delaware. “It’s about whether companies will censor content to protect their business interests — and whether government officials should be pushing for that censorship.”

Who Stands to Lose?

Financially, the short-term impact is minimal. Morningstar analyst Matt Dolgin estimates Disney would lose just a few million dollars annually if the blackout lasted a full year. For a company that reported $91.4 billion in revenue last fiscal year, that’s barely noticeable.

But the stakes are higher for Sinclair and Nexstar. Their ABC affiliate agreements with Disney expire in 2026 — and if Disney decided not to renew, it could cut off two major players from one of America’s biggest broadcast networks. Nexstar and Sinclair depend heavily on their ABC affiliations to bring in advertising revenue, making their current blackout a risky gamble.

Meanwhile, Disney still controls ABC-owned stations in major cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, where Kimmel’s audience is largest. And if the dispute drags on, Disney could steer more viewers toward Hulu, Disney+, and its other streaming platforms, bypassing traditional broadcasters entirely.

What Happens Next?

Both companies say talks are ongoing. Nexstar stated this week that it is “continuing to evaluate the status of Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and won’t air the show until discussions with Disney are complete. Sinclair issued a similar statement, emphasizing that its decision is still under review.

However, Sinclair has gone a step further by demanding that Kimmel issue a public apology to Charlie Kirk’s family and make a personal donation to Turning Point USA, Kirk’s organization — a condition Disney is unlikely to accept.

If negotiations fail, Disney could play what analysts call its “nuclear option”: letting its affiliate deals with Sinclair and Nexstar expire and partnering with other station groups or streaming services to distribute ABC content. That would be a disruptive and costly move but not an existential threat for Disney. For Nexstar and Sinclair, losing ABC affiliations would be catastrophic.

The Bigger Picture

This fight is more than a late-night TV drama — it’s a battle over who gets to shape the national conversation. With streaming services on the rise and political pressure influencing broadcast decisions, the Kimmel blackout might be a glimpse into the future of television: fragmented, politicized, and increasingly online.

For now, millions of viewers are caught in the middle, forced to choose between watching Kimmel on YouTube or going without. Whether Sinclair and Nexstar eventually put Jimmy Kimmel Live! back on the air will say a lot about where the balance of power really lies — with media corporations, with regulators, or with the audiences who just want to watch their favorite late-night host.