There's a bit more detail in today's Dealbook:
The Business Decision Behind Taking Jimmy Kimmel Off Air
Disney’s abrupt move to suspend the late-night host came after political pushback — and concerns about the media company’s relations with affiliate owners.
By Andrew Ross Sorkin Bernhard Warner Sarah Kessler Michael J. de la Merced Niko Gallogly and Lauren Hirsch
Sept. 18, 2025, 8:27 a.m. ET
Jimmy Kimmel’s show was abruptly taken off the air — but for how long?
Andrew here. Jimmy Kimmel’s indefinite suspension from ABC is the latest example of companies seeking to placate the Trump administration. We’ve got a lot more on what happened below, but here’s the TL;DR: Two companies that together own about 70 ABC affiliates said that they would pull Kimmel’s show. One of them is Nexstar, which is trying to buy Tegna for $6.2 billion — a deal that requires approval from the F.C.C. We’ve seen something like this before: Paramount settled a lawsuit filed by President Trump, and then received approval for its sale to Skydance.
Trump supporters say that the Biden administration forced companies like Meta to censor some content, including about Covid. But this feels quite different: Companies are now pre-emptively censoring — or “canceling” — people who they fear will upset the president. What do you think?
The Kimmel campaign
Jimmy Kimmel is off the air “ indefinitely” after comments by the late-night host about the person accused of killing Charlie Kirk drew blowback from two major owners of ABC affiliates and the head of the F.C.C.
It’s perhaps the most dramatic example of businesses and employees taking hits for commenting on the Kirk killing — and, more broadly, being on the wrong side of the Trump administration.
How Kimmel was suspended: Comments he made on Monday about Tyler Robinson, who is accused in the Kirk killing, led to heated criticism by right-wing activists who said that Kimmel had mischaracterized Robinson’s politics.
That crescendoed on Wednesday when Brendan Carr, the F.C.C.’s outspoken chair, said on a podcast that Kimmel’s remarks were part of a “concerted effort to lie to the American people” — and that his agency was “going to have remedies that we can look at.”
Then Nexstar and Sinclair, two big owners of local TV stations, said they would suspend “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (Of note: Nexstar is seeking to buy a rival, Tegna, for $6.2 billion, a deal that needs F.C.C. approval; Sinclair is known for its conservative leaning.)
The decision to take Kimmel off the air came from the top at Disney. Bob Iger, the company’s C.E.O., and Dana Walden, its television chief, made the call, according to The Times. Disney’s relations with important affiliate owners were reportedly a factor: The Wall Street Journal adds that Nexstar’s announcement weighed on executives’ deliberations.
That said, The Journal reports, Disney may begin re-airing Kimmel’s show in the coming days.
The Trump administration and right-wing activists might not stop with Kimmel. In applauding Disney’s decision last night, President Trump appeared to encourage NBC to cancel the late-night shows of Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers. NBC’s owner, Comcast, has already called on employees to “do better” in promoting civil dialogue after an MSNBC political analyst, Matthew Dowd, suggested that Kirk’s “awful words” led to his shooting. (Dowd was later fired.)
Meanwhile, employees at several other companies have also been suspended or fired for commenting on Kirk’s death. “When you see someone celebrating Charlie’s murder, call them out” and “call their employer,” Vice President JD Vance said recently.
A big concern: The Trump administration and its allies haven’t been shy in putting pressure on public enterprises — including banks, law firms and other media companies — for perceived offenses. (This includes The Times.)
The administration’s attack on Kimmel has drawn sharp criticism. But the appetite of corporate America to push back remains in question.
nytimes.com |
