Sinclair and Nexstar to restore Jimmy Kimmel to affiliates' airwaves. What to know in TN
Show Caption Hide Caption Jimmy Kimmel's ABC return nets highest viewership in a decade Jimmy Kimmel returned to ABC after almost a week off air. Over 6 million tuned in to watch Kimmel's return, the show's highest viewership in a decade.
Sinclair and Nexstar own local TV channels with ABC affiliates. Company said it will fully return Jimmy Kimmel to those airwaves after indefinite suspension on Sept. 17.
Walt Disney-owned ABC lifted suspension on Sept. 22, and Sinclair and Nexstar follow suit days later.
For local fans of Jimmy Kimmel’s live comedy, “Jimmy Kimmel Live” will return to normal broadcasting on channels like WKRN.
Sinclair Broadcasting Group and Nexstar Media Group, owners of local ABC affiliates, announced Sept. 26 they would fully return the show to airwaves after both companies said a few days prior they would “preempt” Kimmel’s show.
"As a local broadcaster, Nexstar remains committed to protecting the First Amendment while producing and airing local and national news that is fact-based and unbiased and, above all, broadcasting content that is in the best interest of the communities we serve," said Nexstar in a statement about restoring Kimmel’s show.
The latest: Nexstar, Sinclair ABC stations to air Jimmy Kimmel show again
Here’s what you need to know about why Kimmel is returning and to which local channels.
Kimmel’s suspension and return
Disney-owned ABC said on Sept. 17 it was indefinitely suspending Kimmel’s show following Kimmel’s comments on Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
Kimmel, in a monologue, had said “the MAGA gang” was “desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.” Kirk, cofounder of the conservative organization Turning Point USA, was shot and killed during an event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10. A suspect, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, has been charged with his murder.
Kimmel’s comments came under fire from the head of the Federal Communications Commission, leading Sinclair and Nexstar to scrub their local ABC affiliates of Kimmel’s show. Also, the companies demanded an apology from Kimmel.
On Sept. 22, Disney announced it was lifting the suspension of Kimmel’s show. A few days later, Nexstar and Sinclair announced they would do the same on local affiliates.
What Tennessee-based TV channels are owned by Sinclair or Nexstar?
In Tennessee, there are two ABC affiliates owned by Nexstar, as well as one FOX and one CBS affiliate:
WATE in Knoxville, ABC
WKRN in Nashville, ABC
WJKT in Jackson, FOX
WREG in Memphis, CBS
Meanwhile, there’s only one ABC affiliate in the state owned by Sinclair, as well as two other affiliates:
WZTV in Nashville, FOX
WTVC in Chattanooga, ABC and FOX
WFLI in Chattanooga, CW
First Amendment concerns
The drama over Kimmel’s suspension is part of a broader debate about the First Amendment and free speech in the aftermath of Kirk’s death.
To experts, the action against Kimmel was an escalation in the government's stifling of free speech.
Adam Steinbaugh, an attorney at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, told The Tennessean, “At all levels of government, you have officials setting bad examples, sending the message to the public that if you don't like what someone says, then we will be there to make sure that they face consequences."
More: First Amendment advocates increasingly worried after ABC pulls Jimmy Kimmel. Here's why
[SRC] https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2025/09/27/jimmy-kimmel-return-sinclair-nexstar-tennessee/86392278007/
