The suspension came after federal regulators threatened ABC’s owner, Disney, and a major TV partner of the network dropped the show from 32 stations across the country.
Here’s what you need to know.
Kimmel's comments
On Monday night’s show, Kimmel said: “The MAGA gang [are] trying to characterise this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”
Kimmel also mocked Trump’s response to Kirk’s death.
Answering a question about his ally’s death, Trump talked about the construction of the White House ballroom. Kimmel said it “is not how an adult grieves the murder of somebody he called a friend. This is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish.”
FCC
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is the government agency that regulates television, radio, and telecommunications.
The FCC issues TV networks licenses to broadcast and can suspend them if it believes they are not operating in the “public interest”. It also approves all major media mergers or sales.
In a podcast interview released Wednesday, FCC Chair Brendan Carr criticised Kimmel’s comments, calling them “truly sick.”
Carr said it was “a very, very serious issue right now for Disney,” and that “we can do this the easy way or the hard way.”
“These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead,” Carr said.
“They have a license granted by us at the FCC, and that comes with it an obligation to operate in the public interest.”
Nexstar and ABC
Nexstar is the largest television station owner in the U.S. It works with major networks to broadcast high-profile programs across around 200 stations.
Kimmel’s show is aired on more than 30 of its stations.
Shortly after Carr’s comments, Nexstar announced it would immediately pull Kimmel’s program from all of its stations.
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The FCC is currently evaluating a $6.2 billion merger proposal between Nexstar and fellow television giant Tegna.
In a statement, Nexstar broadcasting president Andrew Alford said airing Kimmel’s show “is simply not in the public interest at the current time,”and that it was suspended “in an effort to let cooler heads prevail”.
Shortly after Nexstar’s comments, The Hollywood Reporter published comments from an ABC spokesperson that Kimmel’s show would be replaced with other programming “indefinitely”.
ABC, owned by Disney, is the employer of Kimmel, his writers, producers, and staff. Kimmel has hosted the show on ABC since 2003.
He is yet to respond.
U.S. media
A number of major U.S. media outlets are facing lawsuits over broadcast or published comments critical of Trump and his administration.
In 2024, Trump sued ABC for airing comments relating to his 2023 civil lawsuit, where he was found liable for sexual abuse. The case was settled for $US16 million ($AU24 million).
He has also settled a $16 million lawsuit against Paramount over the way an interview with Kamala Harris was edited, and announced a $15 billion lawsuit against The New York Times this week.
Paramount owns the channel CBS, which cancelled ‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’ in July, three days after Colbert criticised Paramount’s settlement with Trump.
CBS called it “purely a financial decision”. Paramount is also currently awaiting FCC approval for a multibillion-dollar merger with Skydance Media.
Posting on social media, Trump called Kimmel’s suspension “great news for America”.
He said it “leaves Jimmy [Fallon] and Seth [Meyers], two total losers, on Fake News NBC” in the late night space, calling on NBC to cancel both shows.
FCC response
In a post to X, FCC Chair Brendan Carr said: “I want to thank Nexstar for doing the right thing. Local broadcasters have an obligation to serve the public interest.
“While this may bean unprecedented decision, it is important for broadcasters to push back on Disney programming that they determine falls short of community values. I hope that other broadcasters follow Nexstar’s lead.”
