{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.vanhollen.senate.gov/news/press-releases/van-hollen-colleagues-seek-answers-from-tv-broadcasters-after-pulling-kimmels-show", "Van Hollen, Colleagues Seek Answers from TV Broadcasters After Pulling Kimmel\u2019s Show", "2025-09-24", "2025", "2025-09", "Democrat", "Senate", "MD", "Chris Van Hollen", "V000128", "www.vanhollen.senate.gov", "vanhollen", "https://www.vanhollen.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) has joined Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) in pressing broadcasters Nexstar and Sinclair for answers as to why Jimmy Kimmel was pulled off the air and why they are refusing to broadcast his show to their viewers now that it has returned.\n\nOn September 17, 2025, following comments made by Jimmy Kimmel, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr threatened that he would consider regulatory repercussions for broadcasters who did not take action against Kimmel\u2019s show. Hours later, ABC, Nexstar, and Sinclair suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live!. ABC later announced that it would return Kimmel\u2019s show to the network, but Nexstar and Sinclair are refusing to air the show on local ABC stations they own.\n\nNexstar\u2019s and Sinclair\u2019s decisions to preempt Kimmel\u2019s show come as both companies have business pending before the Trump administration. Nexstar \u2014 the nation\u2019s largest owner of local television stations and owner of dozens of ABC affiliates \u2014 needs the FCC\u2019s approval of its attempted mega-merger. Sinclair \u2014 the nation\u2019s second-largest broadcaster and largest owner of ABC affiliates \u2014 is also waiting on FCC authorization for a broadcast deal, and is planning larger upcoming deals.\n\n\u201cIf you suspended a late-night comedian\u2019s show in part to seek regulatory favors from the administration, you have not only assisted the administration in eroding First Amendment freedoms but also create the appearance of a possible quid-pro-quo arrangement that could implicate federal anti-corruption laws,\u201d the Senators wrote.\n\nNotably, Nexstar\u2019s plan to acquire rival broadcaster Tegna would expand its reach to U.S. households from 39% to an unprecedented 80% nationally.\n\n\u201cIf 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 anticorruption law,\u201d they continued.\n\nThe senators requested more information as to the possible existence of a quid-pro-quo arrangement by October 7, 2025.\n\nFull text of the letter can be viewed here and below.\n\nDear Mr. Sook and Mr. Ripley:\n\nWe write to seek information about the decisions of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (Nexstar) and Sinclair Broadcast Group (Sinclair) not to air the Jimmy Kimmel Live! show \u2014 and on how those decisions may relate to regulatory issues pending with the Trump administration.\n\nOn September 15, 2025, Jimmy Kimmel, host of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, made a series of comments about the reaction to the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Two days later, after Mr. Kimmel had been criticized by \u201cPro-Trump websites and Fox News,\u201d President Trump\u2019s FCC Chair Brendan Carr said the companies airing Kimmel\u2019s show \u201ccan find ways to take action on Mr. Kimmel, or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.\u201d Chairman Carr, in comments Senator Ted Cruz characterized as \u201cright out of Goodfellas,\u201d went on to state, \u201c[w]e can do this the easy way or the hard way\u201d \u2014 seemingly implying that the FCC could revoke broadcast licenses or impose other regulatory harm on broadcasters that did not comply.\n\nHours after Chairman Carr\u2019s remarks, ABC \u2014 which broadcasts Mr. Kimmel\u2019s show and is owned by Disney \u2014 along with Nexstar and Sinclair \u2014 two major owners of ABC local stations \u2014 fell in line: Nexstar announced that it would \u201cpreempt Jimmy Kimmel Live! for the foreseeable future,\u201d as did Sinclair, and ABC pulled the show \u201cindefinitely.\u201d President Trump praised the decision. While debating whether to suspend Mr. Kimmel\u2019s show, multiple Disney executives reportedly \u201cfelt that Kimmel had not actually said anything over the line, . . . but the threat of Trump administration retaliation loomed.\u201d\n\nThen on September 22, 2025, Disney announced that it would return Mr. Kimmel\u2019s show to the network. Nevertheless, Nexstar and Sinclair said they would not resume airing the show on the more than 60 local ABC affiliates they own \u2014 meaning roughly 1 in 4 local ABC stations serving U.S. households will not air Kimmel\u2019s show.\n\nYour announcements that you will prevent Mr. Kimmel\u2019s show from airing on your stations come as your companies have business pending before the Trump administration: Nexstar \u2014 the nation\u2019s largest owner of local television stations and owner of dozens of ABC affiliates \u2014 needs the Federal Communications Commission\u2019s (FCC) approval of its attempted mega-merger with competitor Tegna, Inc. (Tegna). Sinclair \u2014 the nation\u2019s second-largest broadcaster \u2014 is also waiting on FCC authorization for a broadcast deal, and is expected to engage in further TV station acquisitions, for which it would require FCC approval, if the FCC weakens media ownership regulations.\n\nThis series of events raises serious questions about whether Nexstar and Sinclair responded to Trump officials\u2019 warnings by removing Mr. Kimmel\u2019s show, not only to avoid regulatory backlash from the FCC, but also to influence the Trump administration\u2019s review of your pending deals. If you suspended a late-night comedian\u2019s show in part to seek regulatory favors from the administration, you have not only assisted the administration in eroding First Amendment freedoms but also create the appearance of a possible quid-pro-quo arrangement that could implicate federal anti-corruption laws.\n\nNexstar and Sinclair Are Seeking Trump Administration Approval for Key Business Deals\n\nSinclair and Nexstar are in the process of finalizing massive deals, each of which requires signoff by Trump administration officials charged with reviewing the transactions\u2019 compliance with federal antitrust law and the Communications Act of 1934.\n\nNexstar has announced its plan to acquire rival broadcast owner Tegna for $6.2 billion. Nexstar is already the country\u2019s largest TV broadcaster: it controls 201 stations in 116 TV markets, accounting for 39 percent of local TV households nationally. The proposed Nexstar-Tegna acquisition is an explicit test of the FCC cap, set by Congress, on national television station ownership. 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 \u2014 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 \u2014 the same official who, after Nexstar\u2019s decision to pull Mr. Kimmel\u2019s show, tweeted: \u201cI want to thank Nexstar for doing the right thing.\u201d Chairman Carr similarly applauded Nexstar\u2019s and Sinclair\u2019s decision to keep Kimmel\u2019s show off their stations even after Disney announced it would restore the show, posting on social media: \u201cNotably, this is the first time recently that any local TV stations have pushed back on a national programmer like Disney. And that is a good thing because we want want [sic] empowered local TV stations.\u201d\n\nSinclair, which operates 178 TV stations in 81 markets, similarly has business before the FCC. Like Nexstar, Sinclair has pushed for the FCC to revise the television ownership cap, as part of its larger plans for potential acquisitions announced this August. As Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley said in making the announcement, \u201c[s]cale wins in today\u2019s broadcast industry, and we intend to lead that consolidation.\u201d This slew of planned acquisitions would be contingent on FCC approval. In addition, Sinclair is currently awaiting FCC approval for a proposed TV station acquisition.\n\nQuestions about Sinclair\u2019s and Nexstar\u2019s Decisions to Acquiesce to Trump Administration Demands\n\nMake no mistake: the statements from FCC Chairman Carr and President Trump represent an extraordinary abuse of power that jeopardizes all Americans\u2019 First Amendment rights. These moves should be investigated to determine if they violate federal law.\n\nBut Nexstar and Sinclair, which chose to immediately buckle under Trump administration pressure, also have questions to answer. If you used this incident as an opportunity to influence or appease President Trump or other administration officials as you seek federal approval of your mergers or other regulatory favors, that may raise questions about your compliance with federal anti-corruption law and the Communications Act\u2019s requirement to broadcast in the \u201cpublic convenience, interest, and necessity. 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. 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.\n\nAs the Wall Street Journal has noted, \u201canyone who thinks this is the free market at work is ignoring the ways government can punish companies. . . . All the more so given how Mr. Trump has pursued retribution against political opponents in his second term.\u201d Teamsters Local 399 characterized Nexstar\u2019s and Sinclair\u2019s moves as part of \u201ca dangerous trend of corporations trying to fast-track mergers through the back door,\u201d with \u201ccorporations . . . selling out working families and our American freedoms to amass even greater wealth.\u201d\n\nThis is not the first such example of a media company appearing to appease the President in order to curry favor: in July 2025, Paramount cancelled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert three days after the comedian made a joke about Paramount\u2019s $16 million settlement with President Trump \u2014 while Paramount awaited FCC approval of its merger with Skydance. President Trump took credit for the suspension on social media, and suggested Mr. Kimmel and other late night hosts should be next. President Trump\u2019s calls for Mr. Kimmel\u2019s suspension followed years of attempts to censor Mr. Kimmel: as early as 2018, President Trump reportedly \u201cbecame so incensed at Kimmel that he had people in his administration call top Disney executives and urge them to rein him in,\u201d and began targeting him again in early 2024. Following the suspension of Mr. Kimmel\u2019s show, President Trump directed the same warning toward other late-night hosts, calling for the cancellation of two late-night comedians on NBC next and posting, \u201cDo it NBC!!!.\u201d He also suggested the FCC could revoke certain networks\u2019 broadcast licenses, without which they could not operate, based on content critical of President Trump. Meanwhile, FCC Chairman Carr has gone on to warn that other television programs like ABC\u2019s The View may face regulatory scrutiny.\n\nThese events raise serious questions for your companies. So that the American people can understand the possible existence of a quid-pro-quo arrangement, we request answers to the following questions by October 7, 2025:\n\nGiven that Disney has decided to return Mr. Kimmel\u2019s show to the network, why have Nexstar and Sinclair decided not to restart airing the show on the stations you own?\n\nWhich Nexstar executives were involved in discussions about preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live!? Please provide information regarding the timing, nature of, and participants in these discussions, including whether the pending transaction with Tegna was discussed.\n\nWhich Sinclair executives were involved in discussions about preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live!? Please provide information regarding the timing, nature of, and participants in these discussions, including whether the pending transaction with Tegna was discussed.\n\nWhat actions are your companies taking to facilitate the Trump administration\u2019s sign-off on your pending or future transactions?\n\nHave officials from your company discussed making other concessions with President Trump or Trump administration officials in the context of the transaction reviews?\n\nDid Nexstar, at any time in the context of its decisions to remove Mr. Kimmel\u2019s show from its stations, have any conversation with Chairman Carr or any other Trump administration officials?\n\nIf so, what was the nature of these discussions?\n\nDid you offer \u2014 or were you offered \u2014 any regulatory favors in exchange for your decision?\n\nDid Sinclair, at any time in the context of its decisions to remove Mr. Kimmel\u2019s show from its stations, have any conversation with Chairman Carr or any other Trump administration officials?\n\nIf so, what was the nature of these discussions?\n\nDid you offer \u2014 or were you offered \u2014 any regulatory favors in exchange for your decision?\n\nDo your companies have any policies and procedures related to compliance with 18 U.S.C. 201 and any other laws governing public corruption? If so, please provide a copy of those policies and procedures.\n\nHas Nexstar agreed to make changes to Nexstar\u2019s distribution of content or Tegna\u2019s distribution of content at the request of the Trump administration, to facilitate approval of the pending transaction? If so, please describe those requests.\n\nThank you for your attention to this matter.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:10:29Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.vanhollen.senate.gov/news/press-releases/van-hollen-colleagues-seek-answers-from-tv-broadcasters-after-pulling-kimmels-show"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 3.5211050417274237, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}