After a suspension that lasted less than one week, Jimmy Kimmel will return to ABC tonight.
Kimmel was pulled from the air on Wednesday of last week after FCC Chair Brendan Carr publicly applied pressure to ABC and its parent company, Disney.
Carr’s comments came in response to a joke in Kimmel’s monologue about reactions to the murder of Charlie Kirk.
But while Kimmel’s team seems to have worked out an agreement with ABC and Disney, another corporation plans to prevent the show from airing in several major markets.
Sinclair Broadcast Group announces intention to ‘preempt’ Kimmel in key markets
Media giant Sinclair Broadcast Group owns many local ABC affiliate stations, and the company announced on Monday that it will preempt Kimmel’s show in those areas.
“Beginning Tuesday night, Sinclair will be preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live! across our ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming,” Sinclair wrote on X.
The announcement left the door open to the possibility of allowing Kimmel’s show to return to their stations.
“Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return,” the company added.
The list of affiliates owned by Sinclair is too long to reproduce here, but you can click that link to find out if you’ll be able to watch Kimmel tonight.
The show will still be broadcast in most major cities, but if Sinclair goes through with its plan, then folks in major markets such as St. Louis, Tulsa, Portland, and Seattle will not have the option of catching Kimmel’s return.
Will Kimmel apologize for Kirk comments?
Kimmel has not yet commented on his surprising return to the airwaves, but that will almost certainly change during tonight’s monologue.
As for ABC, the network was somewhat vague in its remarks about the terms of Kimmel’s comeback.
“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,” a network spokesperson said on Monday.
Fans and critics alike are wondering if Kimmel agreed to apologize for his Kirk comments as part of his return deal.
More likely, he’ll clarify his remarks and note that he did not intend to disrespect Kirk’s memory or give offense to any of the loved ones.
Whatever the case, tonight’s show will likely deliver Kimmel’s highest ratings in a very long time — even if the folks in Tulsa can’t tune in.