Kimmel’s return to ABC will be dark on dozens of stations, with the “tension” exposed

Nexstar Media Group’s decision and Sinclair Broadcast Group highlights the influence and owners of local television posts sometimes held with national broadcasters such as ABC belonging to Disney.

Kimmel was briefly suspended on the comments he made in the aftermath of the assassination of the conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Here are key facts on the two companies, which collectively have approximately a quarter of ABC affiliates, including in certain larger cities like Washington, DC

Nexstar media group

Nexstar Media Group, based in Irving, Texas, operates 28 ABC affiliates. He said on Tuesday that it is last week’s decision to preempt the show, “while waiting for the assurance that all parties are determined to promote a respectful and constructive dialogue environment on the markets we serve.”

He added “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” will be available nationally on several streaming products belonging to Disney, and Nexstar stations will focus on “the continuation of the production of new local and other programs relevant to their respective markets”.

Nexstar has stations affiliated with ABC in cities like Nashville, Tennessee; New Orleans; Salt Lake City and small markets, including Evansville, Indiana; And Binghamton, NY, among others.

In total, the company has or associates with more than 200 stations on 116 American markets and has dissemination networks on CW and Newsnation, as well as the political website The Hill and nearly a third of the food network.

He hopes to become even greater. Last month, he announced an agreement of $ 6.2 billion to buy Tegna Inc., which had 64 other television stations.

The agreement would oblige the Federal Communications Commission to modify the rules limiting the number of stations that only one company may have. The president of the FCC, Brendan Carr, expressed its opening to the modification of the rule.

Sinclair distribution group

Sinclair Broadcast Group, based in Hunt Valley, Maryland, operates 38 local affiliates of ABC. The company, which has the reputation from a conservative point of view in its programs, said Tuesday in an article on X that it would preempt the program and replace it with the programming of news.

“Discussions with ABC are underway while we assess the potential performance of the show,” the company said in the press release.

Sinclair has, operates or provides services to 178 television stations in 81 markets affiliated with all the main broadcast networks and has the tennis channel. Its ABC affiliates include stations in Washington, DC, Portland, Oregon, Chattanooga, Tennessee and other cities.

Affiliates and national diffusers depend on each other

Although local television affiliates broadcast their own programming, such as local news, they also contract with national broadcasters and pay them to distribute their national programming, distribute advertising revenues and cable costs.

For example, if a 16 minutes ago for an hour of commercial time, about 12 minutes, go to the national broadcaster and 4 minutes, go to the owner of the local station, said Matthew Dolgin, main analyst of the Morningstar research company which covers the technology, media and telecommunications sectors.

While affiliates obtain 100% of advertising revenues from local programming, national television programs during prime listening hours generally obtain much better ratings, therefore higher advertising dollars.

“The areas where these stations have ABC affiliates, they are a smaller market. They probably do not receive the Kimmel audience,” he said. “So for them, they may not lose as much. … It is easier for them to take a stand on Jimmy Kimmel than for many other national programs on which I really think, including, for example, Monday evening football,” added Dolgin.

Controversy

Sinclair made the front page of the newspapers in 2018 when a video that sewed dozens of news for local stations belonging to Sinclair reading identical declarations describing “the disturbing trend of irresponsible and unilateral news that afflicted the country” became viral. Sinclair did not reveal that he ordered anchors to read the Declaration.

Nexstar works the same way.

Danilo Yanich, professor of public policy at the University of Delaware, said that the company was the “greatest duplicator” of news content today that his research has shown that Nexstar stations have duplicated more than other affiliation owners.

Affiliate

Lauren Herold, editor of the next book “Local TV”, said that the network of companies involved in the Americans of their television shows is “relatively unknown” to most viewers, although their influence has been known for decades.

Often, said Herold, it was when the local affiliates fell by broadcasting something they considered controversial, as the episode of the comedy of the 1990s “Ellen” in which the character of Ellen Degeneres was gay.

“It’s not a full quirk,” said Herold. “I think what is more alarming about this particular incident for me is the descending nature.”

While the thrusts passed between the affiliates and their parents’ networks have often involved individual local television leaders, Herold underlined the powerful voices at stake in the suspension of Kimmel: the CEO of Disney, Bob Iger, the FCC Carr chair, as well as Sinclair and Nexstar.

“The FCC in a way of training special programs to be canceled is worrying for people who recommend that television be a forum for free discussion and debate,” said Herold.

Jasmine Bloemhof, a media strategist who worked with local stations, including those belonging to Sinclair and Nexstar, said that consolidation has given such companies “enormous influence”. Controversies like the latter involving Kimmel, she said, “reveal the tension between the Hollywood-based programming and the values ​​of everyday Americans.”

“Networks can push a program, but affiliates belonging to companies like Sinclair and Nexstar understand that they serve conservative communities across the country,” said Bloemhof. “And this friction is required to surface.”

But Dolgin said he thought that the balance of powers could reside with ABC on affiliates. While Disney relies on local television affiliate relations to obtain viewers, advertising revenues and income from cable companies, the ABC broadcasting network was a “very low percentage of income (Disney)”, said Dolgin.

“And they have alternative means with their streaming services, with their wired networks to reach consumers differently,” he said. “So for me, it puts them a little in the driver’s seat in this relationship.”