ABC affiliates were informed late Wednesday that “Jimmy Kimmel Live” will be dark on the network at least through Thursday, with future plans for the 11:35 p.m. slot still undetermined.
A memo sent to the owners of ABC’s more than 150 affiliate station partners addressed the explosive situation that erupted Wednesday afternoon when powerful station group Nexstar announced it would preempt Kimmel’s show on the company’s 32 ABC affiliate stations. Sinclair Broadcast Group also quickly confirmed its plans to preempt Kimmel over the hosts remarks related to the MAGA movement and the activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot dead while at a public speaking event on Sept. 10.
In a memo from the ABC Affiliate Board, a longstanding group that liaises with the network on behalf of station owners, ABC affiliates were informed that the network would program repeat episodes of “Celebrity Family Feud” in the 11:35 p.m. hour slot usually occupied by Kimmel on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. Beyond that, “formal guidance from Disney/ABC is forthcoming,” the memo stated. The memo noted that the affiliate board “remains engaged with ABC” on the roiling controversy.
A source close to the situation maintains that the network has not yet made a formal decision about the future of Kimmel’s show. Executives were in direct conversation with the host and his representatives on Wednesday evening as the news broke and a range of reactions came in fast and furious from the left and right.
More to come
