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Jimmy Kimmel Live! will return to millions of TVs across the US on Friday after station owners Sinclair and Nexstar reversed suspensions they imposed over the comedian’s remarks about the murder of Charlie Kirk.
Sinclair Broadcast Group and Nexstar, which own large networks of local ABC station affiliates totalling just under a quarter of its US audience, refused to carry the late night comedy show in the wake of Kimmel’s comments.
The station owners’ decision on Friday to put Kimmel back on air came amid an intense debate over free speech rights on American airwaves.
Disney, which owns ABC, faced protests and subscription cancellations after imposing an “indefinite” suspension of Kimmel’s show last week, which was reversed on Tuesday.
The decision to block the show was criticised by members of both political parties, including Ted Cruz, a Republican senator from Texas, for infringing on free speech.
But US President Donald Trump and Brendan Carr, the head of the Federal Communications Commission, had taken a hard line on Disney and the Kimmel show.
Carr warned broadcasters who aired Kimmel could face fines or possibly lose their broadcast licences. He suggested Disney could face a “serious” problem over the comedian’s remarks.
Nexstar’s decision to halt the Kimmel show came as it was seeking approval from the FCC for a $6.2bn merger with rival Tegna.
In separate statements, Nexstar and Sinclair said their decisions regarding the Kimmel show were made independent of government influence.
“Nexstar remains committed to protecting the First Amendment while producing and airing local and national news that is fact-based and unbiased,” the company said.
Sinclair said: “Free speech provides broadcasters with the right to exercise judgment as to the content on their local stations.”
Kimmel’s return to the airwaves on Tuesday drew in 6.2mn TV viewers — far exceeding his average of just under 2mn. The show has received more than 21mn views on YouTube.
Sinclair said it had proposed to ABC the idea of appointing an independent ombudsman, among other ideas, but the company has not taken on any of the suggestions.
Bob Iger, Disney chief executive, and Dana Walden, who oversees television and streaming for the group, halted Kimmel’s show last week after the comedian accused Trump supporters of seeking to win political points from the Kirk shooting.
Kimmel also said figures in the president’s Maga movement were “desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them”.
After protest and criticism of the suspension, Disney announced the return of the show on Monday.
In his monologue on Tuesday, Kimmel said his remarks were “either ill-timed or unclear, or maybe both”.
