By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Nexstar Media said on Tuesday it will not resume airing “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on its ABC affiliates and will instead run other programming, after ABC parent Walt Disney announced on Monday that it will resume broadcasting the late-night talk show.
ABC suspended Kimmel’s show on September 17 over comments he made about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Hours before the suspension, Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr warned that local broadcasters who aired Kimmel could face fines or loss of licenses and said “it’s time for them to step up.”
Nexstar owns and operates 32 ABC affiliates and needs FCC approval for a $6.2 billion merger with Tegna.
Walt Disney did not immediately comment.
Nexstar said it stands by its decision to pre-empt Kimmel and said it will “monitor the show as it returns to ABC.” It operates ABC stations in Salt Lake City, Utah; Nashville and New Orleans among other markets.
Sinclair Broadcasting said on Monday it does not plan to resume airing Kimmel’s show on its 38 ABC affiliates, including stations in Washington, D.C., Seattle and Portland, Oregon.
(Reporting by David Shepardson in WashingtonEditing by Chizu Nomiyama and Matthew Lewis)
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