After more than a weeklong suspension, Nexstar — owner of ABC4 in Salt Lake City — says it will resume airing the talk show on its ABC affiliates.
(Randy Holmes / Disney) Jimmy Kimmel during his late-night talk show on Sept. 23, 2025, his first episode back after Disney temporarily suspended the program following his remarks about Charlie Kirk. Nexstar Media Group, which owns ABC4, announced on Sept. 26 that it would resume airing the show on its ABC affiliate stations.
After more than a weeklong suspension, Jimmy Kimmel’s late night talk show is returning to viewers in Salt Lake City.
Nexstar Media Group, which owns ABC4 and over 200 stations nationwide, announced it is returning “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” to its ABC affiliated stations starting Friday night.
In a statement announcing the decision Friday, the company said its remains committed to protecting the First Amendment while airing news that is “fact-based and unbiased.”
“To be clear, our commitment to those principles has guided our decisions throughout this process, independent of any external influence from government agencies or individuals,” Nexstar said.
Both Nexstar and another ABC affiliate owner, Sinclair Broadcast Group — and then The Walt Disney Company, which owns ABC — decided to pull the show after the host’s Sept. 15 remarks about the assassination of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk in Utah.
While The Walt Disney Company announced on Monday that “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” would return following “thoughtful conversations” with the host, both Nexstar and Sinclair said at the time that they would continue to preempt the show on their respective stations.
Neither Nexstar or Sinclair gave a specific reason for reinstating the program, which hasn’t aired on their stations since Sept. 17, though both had said earlier this week that they were in ongoing discussions with Disney.
In a statement Friday, Sinclair said it has “received thoughtful feedback from viewers, advertisers and community leaders representing a wide range of perspectives.”
The broadcast group also pointed to a shooting at an ABC affiliate station in Sacramento earlier this week, which the group said is a testament to the importance of responsible broadcasting and “why respectful dialogue between differing voices remains so important.”
Sinclair had initially demanded that Kimmel make a personal apology to Kirk’s family and a significant contribution to his organization Turning Point USA before it would return “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” to its ABC stations.
In ongoing conversations with ABC, Sinclair said it proposed establishing a network-wide independent ombudsman, among other measures to “strengthen accountability.”
“While ABC and Disney have not yet adopted these measures, and Sinclair respects their right to make those decisions under our network affiliate agreements, we believe such measures could strengthen trust and accountability,” the broadcast group said.
Kimmel’s first episode back on other ABC stations drew 6.26 million viewers — a record for its regular 11:35 p.m. time slot — despite preemptions across 23% of U.S. TV households, according to a Disney ratings report. Kimmel’s opening monologue was viewed by over 26 million people across YouTube and social media, the report states.