Overview

• Both station groups said the late-night show returns to their ABC markets starting Friday night, ending a dayslong blackout in dozens of cities.
• Sinclair cited feedback from viewers, advertisers and community leaders, as well as safety concerns after a Sacramento station shooting, in explaining its decision.
• Nexstar issued its own statement highlighting a commitment to First Amendment principles and said the move followed discussions with Disney.
• Sinclair said its preemption and its reversal were independent of government influence, and noted ABC has not adopted its proposed accountability measures such as an independent ombudsman.
• ABC/Disney had suspended the program last week over Kimmel’s remarks about reactions to Charlie Kirk’s killing, then brought him back on Tuesday to a ratings surge of about 6.3 million TV viewers and tens of millions of social video views.