Overview

• FCC Chair Brendan Carr urged broadcasters to “take action … on Kimmel,” a public warning that implied regulatory scrutiny for stations that did not respond.
• ABC pulled Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air indefinitely after several affiliates, including Nexstar stations, preempted the show as Sinclair issued a sharply critical statement.
• Commissioner Anna M. Gomez called the sequence the most alarming attack on free expression in recent memory and argued the agency lacks authority to police disfavored speech.
• Legal experts say revoking a major broadcaster’s license is highly unlikely, noting no large broadcaster has lost a license since the 1980s and any attempt would face years of litigation.
• Analysts point to the FCC’s power over station transfers and mergers as the agency’s real leverage, citing Paramount’s $16 million payment tied to a Trump lawsuit settlement before its Skydance deal advanced despite Carr denying any linkage.