Jimmy Kimmel Live! was removed from ABC’s programming almost a week ago, but on Monday, Disney announced that the show would return to the air on Tuesday night. However, local network groups Nexstar and Sinclair will preempt Kimmel’s show across nearly 70 ABC affiliate stations they own and show alternative programs.
An interesting wrinkle has cropped up. Affiliates that preempt network programming risk violating their affiliate agreements and could lose other programming they broadcast from the network.
How Can Nexstar and Sinclair Possibly Lose Football Programming?
Drew Lerner of Awful Announcing reported that network affiliates sign contracts with the network, agreeing to broadcast its content. Depending on the contract, it can include late-night programming, the network’s national news programs, and live sporting events. In this case, it would be SEC football on Saturdays and the NFL’s Monday Night Football.
Former Washington Post media reporter Paul Farki posted, “Nerdy but true: A network affiliate like Sinclair can preempt a network show a limited number of times (depends on the contract), but then is in breach of its affiliate agreement and faces penalties or cancellation. So Sinclair is likely on a short leash here.”
Nerdy but true: A network affiliate like Sinclair can pre-empt a network show a limited number of times (depends on the contract), but then is in breach of its affiliate agreement and faces penalties or cancellation. So Sinclair is likely on a short leash here. https://t.co/f4ePsmdqSB
— Paul Farhi (@farhip) September 23, 2025
Affiliates are allowed to preempt programming, but according to their contracts, they can do so only a limited number of times. In this case, it’s unclear how many times affiliates could preempt Kimmel’s show before triggering a clause allowing ABC’s parent company, Disney, to pull other valuable programming, including the SEC and NFL, from the affiliates.
Sinclair said, “Beginning Tuesday night, Sinclair will be preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live! across our ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming. Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return.”
What Could This Mean for Broadcast Sports?
Broadcast networks have lost a significant amount of market share to streamers, and to fill the gap, they have spent heavily on live sports rights. Professional and college football are two of the most valuable and highly watched forms of programming, whether over-the-air, on cable, or via streaming options.
Whether Disney will take the extraordinary step of pulling football programming from its affiliates or if cooler heads will prevail remains to be seen. However, it’s a situation worth monitoring because if Disney were to pull its football programming, customers would have to buy ESPN’s standalone streaming service to watch its football content.
