The company that owns ABC4 in SLC and more than 200 other stations nationwide said the late-night show no longer reflects the values of its local communities.
(Evan Agostini | Invision/Associated Press file photo) Jimmy Kimmel, seen here in 2019, was suspended “indefinitely” by ABC on Sept. 17, 2025, following comments made about the killing of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.
Local news will air in place of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on the ABC stations Nexstar Media Group owns — including Salt Lake City’s ABC4 — the company said.
The media company, based in Irving, Texas, operates more than 20 ABC affiliates among its more than 200 stations nationwide.
The move comes after ABC “indefinitely suspended “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on Wednesday, following the host’s comments Monday night about the assassination of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk. Kimmel accused President Donald Trump and his “MAGA Gang” supporters of “finger-pointing” and trying to portray the alleged shooter as “anything other than one of them.”
Nexstar and another ABC affiliate owner, Sinclair Broadcast Group, spoke out against Kimmel’s comments before ABC, owned by The Walt Disney Company, decided to suspend the show, according to the Associated Press. (Sinclair also owns Salt Lake City’s CBS affiliate, KUTV.)
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr praised ABC’s decision on social media Thursday, saying broadcasters “have long retained the right to not air national programs that they believe are inconsistent with the public interest, including their local communities’ values.” Carr added, “I am glad to see that many broadcasters are responding to their viewers as intended.”
In a statement Wednesday, Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar’s broadcasting division, called Kimmel’s comments about Kirk’s killing “offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse,” adding that they do not “reflect the spectrum of opinions, views or values of the local communities in which we are located.”
Nexstar owns or partners with more than 200 stations in 116 U.S. markets, according to a press release about the suspension, and owns broadcast networks the CW and NewsNation, as well as the political website The Hill and nearly a third of the Food Network.
Last month, Nexstar announced a $6.2 billion deal to buy TEGNA Inc., which owns 64 other TV stations, according to the Associated Press.
The deal would require the FCC to change rules limiting the number of stations a single company can own, and Carr has expressed openness to changing the rule.
“The decision to preempt ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ was made unilaterally by the senior executive team at Nexstar, and they had no communication with the FCC or any government agency prior to making that decision,” according to a statement shared by a Nexstar spokesperson Thursday.
Several popular talk show hosts discussed the suspension in their shows Thursday night. Jimmy Fallon addressed the move on Thursday’s episode of NBC’s “The Tonight Show,” saying, “I do know Jimmy Kimmel, and he’s a decent, funny and loving guy, and I hope he comes back.”
Stephen Colbert, who hosts “The Late Show” on CBS, told viewers Thursday, “If ABC thinks that this is going to satisfy the regime, they are woefully naive.” In response to Carr’s remarks in support of broadcasters pushing back on Disney programming, Colbert said “Well, you know what my community values are, buster? Freedom of speech.”
In July, Colbert announced that CBS plans to cancel “The Late Show” next May. CBS said the move was a financial decision, though critics noted that Colbert has made many jokes at Trump’s expense. After Colbert made his announcement, Trump told reporters, “Fallon has no talent. Kimmel has no talent. They’re next. They’re going to be going.”
Sinclair, based in Hunt Valley, Maryland, is the nation’s largest ABC affiliate group, according to a press release on the decision to suspend Kimmel’s show. The company called on Kimmel to apologize to Kirk’s family and make a “meaningful personal donation” to the activist’s political organization, Turning Point USA.
Sinclair also announced that its ABC stations will air a tribute to Kirk on Friday in place of Kimmel’s show.