ABC Announces Jimmy Kimmel Live! to be Off-Air “Indefinitely”

Disney’s ABC has announced it will take Jimmy Kimmel Live! off its schedule “indefinitely” after a major owner of U.S. TV stations, Nexstar Media Group, stated it would preempt the show. The decision follows a monologue by Kimmel in which he made remarks about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The preemption affects Nexstar’s owned and partner stations that are affiliated with the ABC Television Network.

In a statement, Nexstar said its stations “will preempt ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ for the foreseeable future, beginning with tonight’s show.” The company said it “strongly objects to recent comments made by Mr. Kimmel concerning the killing of Charlie Kirk and will replace the show with other programming in its ABC-affiliated markets.” Andrew Alford, President of Nexstar’s broadcasting division, said Kimmel’s comments were “offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse.”

Kimmel’s comments were made during his monologue on Monday night. He stated that the “MAGA gang” was trying to score political points off Kirk’s death. “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang trying to characterize this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them,” Kimmel said.

The controversy stems from the death of Charlie Kirk, a prominent conservative activist who was shot and killed on September 10 at a debate at Utah Valley University. Authorities announced three days later that they had arrested the suspected shooter, identified as Tyler Robinson. Kirk was credited with energizing the Republican youth movement and supporting Donald Trump.

The decision by Nexstar to preempt a major network’s late-night program is a significant development in the media landscape. Nexstar is the largest local television broadcasting group in the U.S., with over 200 owned or partner stations in 116 markets. The company stated that Kimmel’s comments did not “reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located.”

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has also weighed in on the matter. Chairman Brendan Carr, who was appointed by President Trump, threatened to “take action” against Disney and ABC. Carr suggested the FCC could move to revoke licenses for stations that aired Kimmel’s show, stating, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way… These companies can find ways to change conduct and take actions on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.” Carr has previously voiced criticism of other ABC shows, including The View.

ABC’s decision to pull the show indefinitely, effective today, comes after Nexstar’s announcement and Carr’s public statements. An ABC spokesperson confirmed that the show would be “pre-empted indefinitely,” but did not provide further details. A representative for Kimmel did not immediately respond to a request for comment.