Station owner Sinclair ticks up following news it won’t air Tuesday’s return of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
Disney on Monday said that Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show will return to ABC on Tuesday evening, ending the show’s nearly weeklong suspension. But not every television station will be airing it.
On Tuesday night, TV station owner Sinclair Inc., which says it’s the “largest ABC affiliate group,” announced that it will continue to keep “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” off of its ABC stations. The stations will instead show “news programming.” Sinclair shares rose nearly 4% on Tuesday morning.
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. pic.twitter.com/beGC6VID2x
— Sinclair, Inc. (@WeAreSinclair) September 22, 2025
The move highlights the power that companies like Sinclair and rival Nexstar have over deciding what content makes it across US airwaves. Together, the two companies control 20% of ABC affiliates — not accounting for Nexstar’s potential megamerger with Tegna.
Nexstar, which also ticked up Tuesday morning, has not announced its decision on airing Kimmel’s show Tuesday and did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
