18
Credit: Video Screenshot, 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!', ABCThe Federal Communications Commission is currently investing The Walt Disney Company and other broadcasters to determine how much influence they currently wield over their affiliate partners and if those affiliate networks can unilaterally preempt shows they deem offensive or counterintuitive to their goals. During that investigation, Disney released a filing that sheds more light on the suspension of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel in September.
In its filing, Disney stated that its affiliate stations, led by those owned by Nexstar and Sinclair Broadcasting, contributed to Kimmel’s suspension over his comments about Charlie Kirk’s death. It was previously reported by Rolling Stone that many Disney executives did not believe that Kimmel had done anything wrong and that a suspension wasn’t warranted.
However, after some affiliates threatened to preempt Kimmel’s show, Disney took action and briefly suspended the late-night host. Disney used this as an example to show the FCC that the current system is working.
“Over the last 30 years, ABC-affiliated stations have exercised their right to preempt programming and will continue to do so without FCC intervention,” Disney told the FCC in the December 10 filing, citing preemptions of Kimmel, NYPD Blue, and Saving Private Ryan. “These and other examples make clear that the regime is working in compliance with the FCC’s rules and that no further regulatory intervention is warranted.”
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, who was at the center of the Kimmel saga and recently told Congress that he does not believe his agency is independent despite saying that it is on its website, launched this investigation to determine if broadcasters are exerting too much influence over their affiliates in a way that undermines “the needs of their local communities.”
The Kimmel Saga
Kimmel’s issues started in September, when Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr told a podcast that broadcasters should “stop airing Kimmel’s show,” after his remarks about Kirk. Carr made a not-so-veiled threat to broadcasters, saying, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.”
Moments after Carr made his remarks, Nexstar, the largest station group owner in the country, announced that it was pulling Kimmel from its ABC-affiliated networks. According to Rolling Stone, executives at Disney, ABC, and its affiliated stations gathered for a meeting after Nexstar’s decision, where many of the executives in attendance did not believe that Kimmel had said anything wrong.
Despite that, Disney caved to the pressure from Nexstar and Sinclair Broadcasting, the largest owner of ABC affiliates in the country, to pull Kimmel from the air.
Sinclair said that it will not return Kimmel to its stations until “formal discussions are held with ABC regarding the network’s commitment to professionalism and accountability,” and until Kimmel makes a direct apology to the Kirk Family. Additionally, the network will make a significant donation to the family and Turning Point U.S.A.
However, after less than a week off the air, Disney, facing massive protests and cancellations, restored Kimmel, but he stayed off the air on Sinclair and Nexstar stations. That is, until a week later, when he was restored to both groups’ stations without any concessions from Disney or Kimmel.
Shortly after the Kimmel situation was resolved, the FCC, with some prodding from Sinclair and Nexstar, announced that it would investigate broadcast networks and their relationships with affiliates. It was this investigation that led to Disney’s comments on Kimmel’s suspension.
Any proposed changes could dramatically alter how and what viewers see based on the whims of who owns their affiliate stations. For Disney, it may no longer be worth owning over-the-air stations anymore if the rules are going to change dramatically.
What do you think of the FCC potentially changing its rules to appease the large owners of local stations? Let us know in the comments.