Comedian Jimmy Kimmel's late-night TV talk show is scheduled to return to air Tuesday night, but not in St. Louis.
Walt Disney Co.
Kimmel's comments on supporters of President Donald Trump and his reaction to the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, criticized the head of the Federal Communications Commission, which ultimately led to the ABC's performance.
Disney announced Kimmel's return on Monday.
“Last Wednesday, we decided to suspend production of the show to avoid further inciting tensions in emotional moments,” the company said in a statement to NPR.
But Sinclair Broadcast Group said it still won't run “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on the market that owns ABC stations on Tuesday. The list of approximately thirty branches includes KDNL in St. Louis, ABC 30.
“We will continue to discuss with ABC as we evaluate the potential rewards of the show,” Sinclair said in a statement.
Sinclair publicly opposed Kimmel's comments last week and said the suspension was not enough. Kirk asked Kimmel to turn around and donate to the United States in a statement.
“Mr. Kimmel’s remarks are inappropriate at a critical moment in our country and are very insensitive to our remarks,” wrote Vice Chairman Jason Smith. “We believe that broadcasters have a responsibility to educate and enhance respectful, constructive dialogue in the community. We thank the FCC Chairman for his speech today, an incident highlighting the urgent need for the FCC to take immediate regulatory action to address the controls held by large national networks over local broadcasters.”
Sinclair is one of the largest television ownership groups in the United States. Industry experts speculate that the company's objection to Kimmel may be related to potential purchases from other broadcasters, which will require Trump-friendly FCC approval. The president decided on La Kimmel's performance last week.
KDNL and other Sinclair-owned ABC radio stations will be conducting air news programs during the time period. The show will be streamed on a variety of platforms.
The review is part of Kimmel's monologue when the show started on September 15.
“We had some new lows over the weekend, and the Margot Gang desperately tried to portray the child who murdered Charlie Kirk, except for one of them, and did everything possible to get political points from it.”
The quote attracted FCC Chairman Brendan Carr's Ire, who seemed to threaten to take action during the podcast appearance.
“We can do this in a simple way or in a difficult way,” Carl said. “These companies can find ways to change behavior to act on Kimmel, or, you know, there will be other work in the FCC.”
When Disney initially pulled the show, it described the suspension as indefinitely.
Kimmel married producer and television writer Molly McNearney, a St. Louis native.
Correction: A previous version of this story misunderstood the owner of Quincy’s Khaq, which is owned by Rincon Broadcasting Group.