Here’s Why ABC Should Call Sinclair’s Jimmy Kimmel Bluff
After an endless *checks watch* week in which Jimmy Kimmel Live! vanished from the nation’s airwaves, Disney announced that the show and its controversial host will return tonight. Well, for most of America, anyway. Sinclair Broadcast Group, owner of one of the largest groups of local TV stations, has announced it will continue to black out Kimmel in protest of the comedian’s monologue about Charlie Kirk.
“Beginning Tuesday night, Sinclair will be preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live! across our ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming,” Sinclair said in a statement. “Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return.”
Sinclair has already lost this particular war. It demanded that Kimmel not only apologize for his monologue but also pay off Kirk’s wife with a “meaningful donation” in exchange for his return to television. The ransom wasn’t met, and Kimmel’s back anyway.
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If I’m Disney, I’d let Sinclair play out its no-Kimmel bluff. No network wants to anger its affiliates, but they also don’t want the inmates to run the asylum. Here are three reasons why Disney should go ahead and let Sinclair stomp its feet…
Nearly 90 Percent of the Country Will Still Get Kimmel
Sinclair is the single largest owner of ABC stations in the country, with 28 affiliates reaching 13 percent of the country. Impressive, but that means 87 percent of viewers can still tune in live for Kimmel tonight. In the banned markets, won’t those Sinclair stations get frustrated calls and emails from viewers wanting to see what the fuss is about? Sinclair is turning up the pressure, all right — on those lowly station managers who have to deal with actual people.
More People Watch Late Night on Streaming Than on Television
According to a survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research conducted earlier this month, more people are watching late-night clips on YouTube, Instagram Reels or TikTok than staying up for the live shows. Kimmel also runs on Hulu and Disney+ — who needs to watch on the local channel?
Twenty years ago, Sinclair’s silencing of Kimmel would have meant no one in its markets could watch. Today, everyone can hear what Kimmel has to say — probably via the online outlet they were going to watch anyway. Who cares if the bratty kid takes his ball and goes home when there are 10 more balls still on the playground?
Other Local Stations Wouldn’t Mind An Upgrade
Does Sinclair think it can only punish Disney and not the other way around? Most of us have lived in markets where networks changed affiliations to another local station due to a preference in ownership groups or, significantly, an affiliate’s refusal to fulfill its obligations. What’s going to hurt more — Disney having to shift partners in a handful of local markets, or current ABC affiliates losing Monday Night Football?
As anyone who’s watched a bare-bones local newscast lately can tell you, the area TV station is a dying animal. Ad dollars are drying up. Sinclair has stopped producing local news on many of its affiliates because it can no longer afford to do so. Call Sinclair’s bluff, Disney — you’re better off without them.
