The firing of Jimmy Kimmel was a shock to some of us. His comedy has often bordered on inappropriate. I have mixed emotions about the Federal Communications Commission being involved in any way, but I have no problem with a private company taking whatever action they deem appropriate in dealing with someone who is part of their brand. However, there seems to be more to the story.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, The New York Post<\/a> reported the following:<\/p>\n Jimmy Kimmel\u2019s comments on the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk weren\u2019t just noxiously offensive and seemingly misleading<\/a> \u2014 their timing was also incredibly bad: They threaten to derail Nexstar\u2019s $6.2 billion takeover of rival broadcaster Tegna, telecom insiders tell On The Money.<\/strong><\/p>\n The already controversial deal \u2014 which would combine two of the nation\u2019s largest owners of local TV stations<\/a> \u2014 poses significant antitrust questions and needs a close review by the Federal Communications Commission and its conservative firebrand chairman, Brendan Carr.<\/strong><\/p>\n Kimmel\u2019s comments made that approval even dicier. That\u2019s why Nexstar publicly announced Thursday that its stations would no longer carry the show, telecom insiders tell On The Money. Ditto for ABC, which produces and distributes \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!\u201d to broadcasters like Nexstar \u2014 and likewise has business before the FCC.<\/strong><\/p>\n Bob Iger, the CEO of its parent, Disney, was also quick to suspend the show<\/a> indefinitely.<\/strong><\/p>\n On Thursday, Sinclair Broadcasting \u2014 a rival local TV giant with a conservative bent \u2014 upped the ante even further<\/a>, saying\u00a0ABC\u2019s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel\u00a0was insufficient and announcing it will yank \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!\u201d from its stations until the host apologizes directly to Kirk\u2019s family and donates to his political activist group.<\/strong><\/p>\n The backdrop to all this is Carr, a longtime telecom lawyer who is the new sheriff of the broadcast industry. Carr has been warning networks large and small that he\u2019s taking one of the most expansionary views of the agency\u2019s regulatory edict to make sure programming is in the \u201cpublic interest,\u201d<\/a> First Amendment concerns be damned.<\/strong><\/p>\n Ultimately, the public will be the ones to decide what is acceptable on television. Generally speaking, when viewership drops, shows are cancelled. It is interesting that Jimmy Kimmel’s remarks were made at a time when a business deal was being discussed. I do wonder if he believed what he was saying or if he was simply repeating something he had heard. Either way, it was inappropriate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The firing of Jimmy Kimmel was a shock to some of us. His comedy has often bordered on inappropriate. I have mixed emotions about the Federal Communications Commission being involved in any way, but I have no problem with a … Continue reading