(Bloomberg)-A storm of an event on TV comedy in the late night gave the local station owners a chance to give the favor of the Republican Controlled Federal Communications Commission, which eventually must bless and approve any of their merger plans. During an appearance on a conservative podcast Wednesday, FCC Chariman Brendan Carr urged local stations to abandon Jimmy Kimmel’s late night program about comments made by ABC hosts around the murder of political activist Charlie Kirk. After that, two of the country’s largest TV station owners, Nexstar Media Group Inc. and Sinclair Inc., rushed to announce that they are going to get Kimmel’s program out of their series. “Mr. Kimmel’s remarks about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse,” Nexstar’s president Andrew Alford said in a statement. Sinclair, the largest owner of ABC subsidiaries, went even further and attached the kimmel situation to larger goals. “This incident emphasizes the critical need for the FCC to take regulatory steps immediately to address control of local broadcasters by the major national networks,” Vice -Chairman Jason Smith said in a statement. The unusual maneuvers – station groups do not criticize their national partners so openly – underline the extent to which the industry has reached an important point. The local station groups were able to print higher fees of cable and satellite TV suppliers for many years, but the source of funds is challenged as consumers cancel subscriptions. Networks are also asking for higher fees for spreading their programming. Local TV managers consider consolidation as an antidote to their problems. If you own even more stations, they can cut costs by sharing local news rooms and advertising sellers between different stations in a market. It will also give them more in negotiations with the cable operators spreading their signals and the networks that offer their programming. To get there, the broadcasting industry wants the Trump administration to take away the regulations that limit the ownership of station. No single company can currently own stations that reach more than 39% of US households. Companies also cannot own more than two stations in any single city. The commission under Carr weighs changes that enable more consolidation. Carr said he believes broadcasters should have more room to merge, giving them the ability to compete more aggressively with online media. The commission may consider some changes on the local restrictions on September 30. Nexstar wants the competitive station owner Tegna Inc. acquired in a $ 6.2 billion transaction, including debt. Nexstar needs the FCC to not only approve the transfer of Tegna’s station licenses, but also change the rule. The agreement will enable the company to reach 80% of US households twice the current limit. The response from the local TV industry to the Kimmel program is “traceable for the biggest priority of their industry, which lifts the FCC’s boundaries on the number of stations they can own,” said Andrew Schwartzman, a communications attorney and senior adviser to the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society. “It’s no coincidence that Nexstar, the most wanting to regulatory relief, was out of the gate first.” Nexstar said the decision to remove Kimmel from the air is independent of the FCC. ‘The decision to predict’ Jimmy Kimmel Live! “was made unilaterally by the senior executive team at Nexstar, and they had no communication with the FCC or any government agency before making the decision,” the company said in a statement. Sinclair is also looking for transactions. The company recently announced that it has started a strategic review that could lead to a sale or break up. Sinclair’s own stations in markets where many viewers were supporters of Kirk and were insulted by Kimmel’s comments, said Hank Price, a former station manager. Large station owners can also lose the late night shows and free them to operate news or other programming for less than the network, according to Price. More stories like these are available on Bloomberg.com © 2025 Bloomberg LP
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