"Sinclair Broadcast Group, one of the country's largest owners of local television stations, announced Friday it will end its preemption of Jimmy Kimmel Live! and will resume airing the popular late-night program on its ABC affiliate stations, effective Friday evening. The decision marks a significant reversal after a period of scrutiny and debate over the network's programming choices, with Sinclair and fellow affiliate Nexstar, which also de-platformed Kimmel, finding themselves at the center of a nationwide freedom-of-speech debate."
"Sinclair said in its Friday statement that over the last week, it had received "thoughtful feedback from viewers, advertisers, and community leaders representing a wide range of perspectives." The company also said it witnessed troubling acts of violence, including a shooting at an ABC affiliate station in Sacramento, Calif., implying its removal of Kimmel was responsible in a climate of heightened tension and political violence. The company said such events "underscore why responsible broadcasting matters and why respectful dialogue between differing voices remains so important.""
"Sinclair fired back at its critics, claiming its decision was "independent of any government interaction or influence," and was, in fact, an exercise of free speech itself. "Free speech provides broadcasters with the right to exercise judgment as to the content on their local stations," Sinclair said, arguing it's "simply inconsistent to champion free speech while demanding that broadcasters air specific content.""
Sinclair Broadcast Group will end its preemption of Jimmy Kimmel Live! and resume airing the late-night program on its ABC affiliates effective Friday evening. The preemption began last week and drew widespread attention as Sinclair and Nexstar de-platformed Kimmel, prompting a nationwide freedom-of-speech debate. Sinclair said the decision to reverse was independent of government influence and framed broadcasting choices as exercises of free speech. The company said it received thoughtful feedback from viewers, advertisers, and community leaders and cited troubling acts of violence, including a shooting at an ABC affiliate in Sacramento, as underscoring the need for responsible broadcasting and respectful dialogue. Sinclair said its primary objective was to ensure local stations broadcast accurate, engaging content.
Read at Fortune
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]