As I’ve written a few times, we can’t over-read any single move in the broad contest over big societal institutions obeying or resisting Trump administration diktats. But Sinclair Broadcasting just announced they’re ending their “preemption” of the Jimmy Kimmel show. Even their own statement seems to make clear that while they asked for concessions from ABC/Disney they didn’t get any.
Sinclair is of course the more ideological of the two affiliates owning companies. NexStar’s angle seems more transactional, though its leadership also seems Trumpy beyond that. So why did this happen? I have no direct knowledge. We shouldn’t read too much into any one move in this drama. It’s possible that the White House/Brendan Carr sent out word that they want to move on from this specific fight. The more likely explanation is that, unlike most of Sinclair’s past gambits, this one is highly visible. It shines a bright light on the fact that this big corporation plays games with what you’re allowed to see. Most people know there’s a local ABC affiliate. They knows there’s an ABC network. They have little sense there are these intermediate companies that can call these shots. And this involves some big and culture-influential cities — Washington, DC, Seattle, Portland, St Louis out of a total of 40 stations.
It’s another example that you want these issues to be engaged in the most visible way and to touch people outside the normal political conversation.
