Overview

• Jimmy Kimmel and Disney/ABC are in ongoing discussions about conditions for a possible return, with no agreement guaranteed, as ABC fills the slot with reruns.
• Hours after FCC Chair Brendan Carr urged affiliates to “take action,” Nexstar and Sinclair said they would preempt the program, and ABC then suspended the show indefinitely.
• Republicans split over the episode as Ted Cruz and Rand Paul criticized the FCC’s involvement, while President Donald Trump praised the move and floated revoking broadcast licenses.
• FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez said the agency lacks authority to police broadcasters’ speech, a warning underscored by affiliates’ sensitivity to regulatory reviews and pending deals.
• Protests and industry backlash continued, including a San Francisco rally and union statements, while Sacramento police arrested a man after shots were fired at an ABC affiliate lobby with the motive under investigation.