A group of Democratic senators has sent a list of questions to two companies that own local TV stations across the country to address why they refuse to air Jimmy Kimmel's late-night talk show — even after ABC made the decision to bring it back.
Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Ron Wyden of Oregon, Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland signed a 7-page letter on Tuesday addressed to Perry A. Sook, the chairman of Nexstar Media Group, and Christopher S. Ripley, the president and chief executive of Sinclair Broadcast Group.
Sinclair owns about 40 ABC-affiliated local TV stations, while Nexstar, the country's largest TV broadcaster, owns around 30 ABC-affiliated TV stations in various markets.
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"Suspending the show of a comedian critical of the Trump administration clearly has value to President Trump, who has been critical of Mr. Kimmel for years," the lawmakers wrote. "If Nexstar or Sinclair traded the censorship of a critic of the administration for official acts by the Trump administration, your companies are not only complicit in an alarming trampling of free speech rights but also risk running afoul of federal law."
After Kimmel mentioned conservative influencer Charlie Kirk's killing in his show's monologue last week, Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr threatened to take action.
He stated, "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct, to take action, frankly on Kimmel, or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead," on The Benny Show, a podcast hosted by conservative commentator Benny Johnson.
Within hours, Nexstar and Sinclair announced they would not air Kimmel's show on their ABC stations, calling Kimmel's comments offensive, inappropriate and insensitive. In a separate post, Sinclair also called for Kimmel to make a personal donation to the Kirk family and Turning Point USA.
ABC, which is owned by the Walt Disney Company, followed suit but then announced earlier this week that the show would return on Tuesday night.
Shortly after the announcement, Andrew Kolvet, the spokesperson for Turning Point USA, said on X, "Disney and ABC caving and allowing Kimmell back on the air is not surprising, but it's their mistake to make. Nextstar and Sinclair do not have to make the same choice."
Sinclair and Nexstar then said they would continue to keep Kimmel's show from airing on their ABC stations. Sinclair said in a statement, "Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return."
"This series of events raises serious questions about whether Nexstar and Sinclair responded to Trump officials’ warnings by removing Mr. Kimmel’s show, not only to avoid regulatory backlash from the FCC, but also to influence the Trump administration’s review of your pending deals," the lawmakers said in their letter to the companies' leadership.
The senators pointed out that both Nexstar and Sinclair are in the process of finalizing "massive deals" that require the FCC's approval.
Nexstar announced last month that it had reached an agreement to buy rival media company Tegna.
"If the FCC approves this merger, Nexstar would stand to control stations that reach an unprecedented 80 percent of TV households in the United States — more than double the existing limit. In order for the deal to go through, Nexstar needs a change in media ownership rules or a waiver from FCC Chairman Carr," the lawmakers claimed.
The senators then listed nine questions that they want answered by both companies by Oct. 7.
Nexstar and Sinclair have not publicly commented on the letter.
