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FCC Chairman Brendan Carr joined Sean Hannity on Fox News Wednesday evening to clarify why Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night TV present was abruptly suspended following backlash over his controversial feedback in regards to the assassination of Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk.
Carr burdened that broadcast networks like ABC function with a license that has a “distinctive obligation to function within the public curiosity,” not like cable channels akin to CNN.Â
“Broadcasters are totally different than another type of communication,” Carr stated, pointing to affiliate teams like Nexstar and Sinclair that introduced they might not carry “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” He argued that native stations acted appropriately, saying they had been “standing as much as serve the pursuits of their neighborhood.”
“Over the years, the FCC walked away from implementing that public curiosity obligation,” Carr stated. “I don’t assume we’re higher off as a rustic for it.”
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr seems on Fox News’ “Hannity” on Sept. 17, 2025, to debate ABC associates pulling Jimmy Kimmel’s present. (Fox News)
Hannity pressed Carr on whether or not broadcasters had been abusing their licenses by advancing partisan agendas.
“They went from going for applause, from snicker traces to applause traces. They went from being court docket jesters that will make enjoyable of everyone in energy to being court docket clerics and implementing a really slim political ideology,” Carr asserted.
Carr pointed to what he described as years of “slim, partisan circus” programming and stated the FCC was working to reinvigorate enforcement of the general public curiosity obligation. He known as Nexstar and Sinclair’s selections “unprecedented.”
FCC CHAIR LEVELS THREAT AGAINST ABC, DISNEY AFTER KIMMEL SUGGESTED CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSIN WAS ‘MAGA’
Jimmy Kimmel internet hosting his late-night program in Los Angeles earlier this yr. (David Russell/Disney by way of Getty Images)
“This motion in the present day by Nexstar and Sinclair, frankly, it’s unprecedented,” stated Carr. “I can’t think about one other time after we’ve had native broadcasters inform what we name a nationwide programmer like Disney that your content material not meets the wants and the values of our neighborhood.”
The controversy erupted after Kimmel urged that conservatives had been attempting to deflect accountability from “the MAGA gang” in reference to the arrest of 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, the suspect accused in Charlie Kirk’s killing.
Carr defended the indefinite suspension of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” whereas showing on “Hannity” Wednesday. (Al Drago/Bloomberg by way of Getty Images)
Nexstar, which is awaiting FCC approval on a multibillion-dollar acquisition, introduced it could preempt Kimmel’s present “for the foreseeable future.” Hours later, Disney confirmed ABC would droop this system indefinitely.
The ACLU blasted the transfer, accusing the Trump administration of utilizing federal stress to silence critics. “This is past McCarthyism,” stated Christopher Anders, the group’s democracy and expertise director, warning of a “grave menace to our First Amendment freedoms.”
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Carr informed Hannity the shift mirrored market realities, arguing that late-night exhibits had alienated broad audiences by prioritizing politics over comedy.Â
“You can’t keep away from rankings,” Carr stated. “At the top of the day, the market goes to be undefeated.”
Fox News Digital’s Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
