Let’s get one thing straight upfront: I’m as sick as you are of this whole Jimmy Kimmel and Disney mishagas–maybe more. My algorithms have apparently been trained to immediately show me yet another outraged reaction to something that either he or the farter-in-chief have been saying in their neverending battle of wits, one-sided though it may be. The latest round of rhetoric and posturing began Thursday morning when the thinnest-skinned fat slob to ever reside at 1600 Pennsylvania doubled down on his draconian off-with-his head request on his personal Festivus platform, as the WASHINGTON EXAMINER’s Molly Parks reminded us yesterday:
“When is ABC Fake News Network firing seriously unfunny Jimmy Kimmel, who incompetently presides over one of the Lowest Rated shows on Television? People are angry. It better be soon!!!” Trump posted on Truth Social Thursday morning.
Seems like his use of “people” is akin to the “royal we”–which considering who he palled around with earlier this week might almost be understandable. But lest anyone dare think that there’s any connection whatsoever to what’s keeping Disney’s lawyers up as late as night as him, leave it to one of his most ardent booklickers to set the record straight—remarks that unsurprisingly THE NEW YORK POST’s Alexandra Steigrad dutifully regurgitated to her readers later that day:
Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr said Thursday that the decision to order an early license review for Disney’s ABC television stations is about the company’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives — not President Trump’s clash with late-night host Jimmy Kimmel. “This was based on DEI conduct and not speech,” Carr said at a press conference following the FCC’s monthly meeting. The timing of the review has raised eyebrows, leading some critics to believe the review was in connection of the latest escalation of the skirmish between Kimmel and Trump.
The FCC first launched its Disney probe in March 2025 into whether the Mouse House was still engaging in DEI practices that flout the agency’s equal employment opportunity rules. The chairman added that Disney hasn’t been completely forthcoming in its responses to the FCC’s requests for information. “It felt like they were playing rope-a-dope,” Carr said of Disney’s response to the agency’s document demands.
I suppose if he actually were to poll a few dozen of the thousand-ish folks that lost their Disney careers last month that I personally know–none of whom check any DEI tick boxes whatsoever–he might be singing a different tune, but heaven forbid one could expect objectivity from anyone acting as a mouthpiece for the most petty, petulant excuse for an adult to ever waddle through the paved-over Rose Garden.
No, this is absolutely unresolved “trauma” dating back to last September’s brouhaha. At that time, in the wake of similarly stinging barbs regarding the Charlie Kirk assassination, Carr’s one-man quixotics were being aided and abetted by two major station groups with right-leaning leadership, Nexstar and Sinclair. Nexstar has been much less vocal this time around; we mused as to why that might be earlier this week (see, there’s that “royal” tone we referenced). And much as their CEO Perry Sook might worship at the smelly cankles of his favorite President, he loves money and power all the more, and until those silly judges stop trying to keep him from swallowing Tegna the way any whale swallows a school of plankton he’s not gonna involve his stations in any of said person’s hissyfits.
Which brings us to the other key player in this ongoing feud, Sinclair, and the principals attached. In a September post on his DEEPER LOOK Substack, Michael Sellers recapped their Tale Of The Tape:
- David D. Smith and his family control the company. He is a long-time Republican donor and power player.
- Chris Ripley, the current CEO, runs day-to-day operations, but Smith sets the tone.
- Sinclair owns or operates nearly 200 local TV stations across the country, reaching about 40 percent of American households.
This gives Sinclair a very powerful position. Local TV news remains one of the most trusted news sources in the U.S., and Sinclair has long leveraged that trust for ideological influence.
The company has a track record of requiring local anchors to read “must-run” scripts denouncing “fake news” in language that echoed Trump’s talking points. They have also leaned heavily Republican in political donations and cultivating close ties with the Trump White House. They also produce syndicated shows like Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson, known for its conservative slant.
You’ll note that there’s a bit of a disconnect between its sheer number of outlets and its actual ability to reach the masses. The Nexstar-Tegna combo reaches twice the percentage of the U.S. as Sinclair does, and actually has a presence in nine of the top 10 DMAs. Sinclair’s footprint is the exact reciprocal–save for their ABC affiliate in Washington, D.C., they are currently shut out of those most influential–and theoretically profitable–markets.
The ABC owned-and-operated stations that Carr is arguably unlawfully and unquestionably prematurely hauling into court are a mere eight in total, but they run the table of the top six.
I personally don’t think there’s a shred of legitimacy to the feckless claims that Carr’s FCC is trying to make, but with his boss’ panties in an uproar (let alone his mizzus’ that those bad, bad FBI agents once got to rummage through) one never does know how things will actually unfold nowadays. So let’s just say for a second for a second that somehow Carr finds a gun smoking enough to fire at Disney and take away their station licenses. What would the government do with them?
Hmmm–maybe Smith and Ripley might like to grow their d-cks as big as Perry Sook’s. Think they might be inclined to help Carr?
It has already been proven that cancelling Kimmel outright would not only be inflaming, it would also be bad business. The overnights on WJLA in Washington during the week that they replaced Kimmel with Sinclair-produced programming were actually worse than Kimmel’s, and that was not all that high a bar to begin with. But that said, it’s hardly Sinclair’s biggest moneymaker–no network show ever can be given how little time affiliates are given to sell.
But they can more quietly stop promoting Kimmel entirely–why throw good money after bad, anyway? And they can drop in a segment with someone like Attkinson– perhaps even bring back Boris Epshyteyn as a “contributor” in the final block leading into him. Affiliates have advance notice of what their late-night shows’ content will be. They certainly can offer counterpoint and even spoilers to what his repartee with Guillermo might be on a given night. Call it “anti-promotion”, if you will. Doing that in even their current footprint can inflict immediate damage on Disney.
More significantly , if you are Smith or Ripley, you’re doing something that the puppeteers of the FCC will appreciate almost as much as a gold trinket. Maybe more.
And if you’re Carr, cutting a side deal to ensure that Sinclair would wind up with those stations should they get their way might be enough of an incentive to get them to play along with you. Without leaving Disney the justification to threaten them the way they did last fall when they dangled the carrot of no college football in front of them and Nexstar. Besides, the best quiver they have in that bow right now is the NBA finals. Sinclair doesn’t own a single ABC affiliate in any city that still has a team eligible for it. Take that, Mickey.
Those of you who may be reading this who are savvy and seasoned might question why anyone would want to grow a broadcast station group at a time when such business is cratering. Bear in mind that Sinclair was the same company that believed they could find a way to keep the FOX regional sports networks afloat. They barely got out of that mess in time to let FanDuel screw up the brand and content still more. They officially sign off by Monday. Don’t underestimate their appetite to run counter to both media analysts and common sense.
It’s all lined up perfectly for you, boys. Now go run along and play before someone else sends another “truth”.
Until next time…