Overview

• Disney consulted lawyers before restoring Jimmy Kimmel and was told it would likely win if the administration tried to pull ABC’s license, according to Bloomberg reporting.
• Nexstar and Sinclair, which had preempted the program on many ABC affiliates, returned Kimmel to their lineups on Friday without concessions from Disney or the host.
• FCC Chair Brendan Carr urged broadcasters to “take action” on Kimmel, warning it could be done “the easy way or the hard way,” prompting First Amendment coercion concerns and references to the Supreme Court’s NRA v. Vullo ruling.
• Criticism of government pressure came from across the spectrum, with Sen. Ted Cruz, Sen. Rand Paul and Ben Shapiro warning the tactic could be used against conservatives in a future administration as protests and union-backed rallies highlighted the backlash.
• Media experts warned that consolidation and pending transactions at large station groups magnify regulatory leverage, risking a chilling effect on programming decisions.