Kimmel Row Highlights How Media Giants Shape Local TV

Two of the nation's largest television operators, Sinclair Broadcast Group and Nexstar Media Group, did not air Jimmy Kimmel Live! as the late-night program returned from a suspension on Tuesday, underscoring how ownership structures influence programming decisions that affect hundreds of local stations. Kimmel used his return to describe what he characterized as coercive pressure from the Trump administration aimed at affiliates in multiple markets to pull the show from the air.

Sinclair, based in Baltimore, operates about 300 stations and 38 ABC affiliates, giving it a dominant footprint in local broadcasting. Its executive chairman, David D. Smith, 75, has led the company since 1990 after taking over from his father. The company has faced ongoing scrutiny for its conservative tilt and for exerting editorial influence across its network of stations. Outlook and activism around Sinclair have long been a matter of public debate, with Smith cited as a central figure in the company’s political engagement. Reports have noted his substantial contributions to conservative causes and organizations, including six-figure sums to Turning Point USA, Project Veritas and Moms for Liberty, according to Nieman Reports.

Nexstar CEO Perry Sook founded the company in 1996 with a single Scranton, Pennsylvania station and grew it into the largest U.S. television-station operator. Beyond traditional broadcasting, Nexstar owns the cable network NewsNation, holds a controlling stake in The CW network, and operates online publication The Hill. Sook has been a prolific donor to political campaigns across the aisle, including figures such as Chuck Schumer, Ted Cruz and Liz Cheney, according to Nieman Reports. He has publicly framed Nexstar’s growth in terms of expanding reach and influence in a rapidly evolving media landscape, including his comments during Trump’s reelection period about reducing what he called activist journalism.

The business side of the story intensified as Nexstar pursued larger-scale consolidation. In August, the company announced a planned $6.2 billion acquisition of Tegna, a deal that would expand Nexstar’s national footprint and bring dozens more stations into its fold. If approved by regulators, the Tegna merger would push Nexstar’s market presence toward roughly 80 percent of U.S. television households, well beyond current ownership limits. Federal Communications Commission rules cap an individual broadcaster’s national reach at 39 percent of the audience, a discrepancy that regulators would have to resolve in approving any combination.

Regulatory scrutiny and political controversy have intertwined in the run-up to the Tegna deal. FCC commissioner Brendan Carr condemned Kimmel’s remarks, which contributed to the decision by Nexstar and Sinclair to keep the show off the air in certain markets. The merger would require extensive antitrust review and FCC clearance before any new ownership structure could take effect, a process that could take months and potentially alter timing and market dynamics for the country’s largest local broadcasters.

Beyond corporate strategy and regulatory clocks, the executives’ personal histories have also entered the conversation. A 2017 Michigan station permit dispute involving a Nexstar editor drew public attention to management practices at Sook’s operations. The editor alleged she faced harassment complaints that the station’s leadership did not adequately address, a claim that culminated in a 2020 court ruling in Nexstar’s favor. The episode has been cited by critics as indicative of broader governance tensions within the company.

Other notes from the period emphasize that ownership decisions at Sinclair and Nexstar extend into newsroom direction and content choices. In the post-9/11 era, Sinclair stations were reported to have aired editorials aligned with the Bush administration’s security policies, and the company at times aired material from groups that critics labeled as biased political propaganda. In 2018, Sinclair stations reportedly ran attack ads against Barack Obama that other networks, including Fox News, declined to air. Critics argue such episodes illustrate how a concentrated owner’s political views can cascade into coverage choices across a national footprint.

The 2024 acquisition of the Baltimore Sun by Smith added another layer to the conversation about ownership and editorial direction. Union leaders and several staff departures followed as the paper adopted a more conservative tilt in its coverage, prompting renewed questions about how local-news brands balance business imperatives with newsroom independence.

As Jimmy Kimmel prepared to return to late-night television, his monologue framed the broader dispute as a clash between a media landscape dominated by a handful of powerful owners and a political environment that increasingly ties loyalty to management’s expectations. Analysts say the episode underscores how the concentration of ownership can shape programming decisions, the tone of local news, and, ultimately, the market’s exposure to a few major influencers.

In the weeks ahead, observers will be watching how the Tegna deal plays out before the FCC and how Sinclair and Nexstar navigate potential remedies, divestitures or structural changes that could appease regulators while preserving the commercial incentives of a highly consolidated industry. The outcome will help signal whether the current trajectory toward larger, more centralized ownership of local stations remains the defining feature of U.S. broadcast markets or whether greater regulatory intervention will reintroduce a degree of competition into a landscape long characterized by scale and reach.