Sinclair Broadcast Group’s revenues slid sharply in the third quarter, in the same period the conservative local TV giant pulled ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! from more than 180 stations, a move top executives deny is linked to the drop.
The broadcaster reported revenues of $773 million and booked a $1 million net loss in the three months that included Kimmel’s September suspension, according to Variety, a sudden reversal from the $94 million profit Sinclair posted in the same quarter of 2024.
Advertising was the engine of the decline, down 26% to $321 million year-over-year. Political spending largely evaporated with just $6 million this past quarter compared to $138 million a year ago – which was, of course, an election year.
On the earnings call, Variety reported, Sinclair chief executive Chris Ripley insisted the company had delivered “a strong third quarter, achieving the high end of guidance for advertising and distribution revenue, while media expenses and adjusted EBITDA beat expectations.”
He offered no concession that the Jimmy Kimmel boycott or the claims of a partisan blackout had contributed to the slump, instead blaming a stand-off between “media giants”, specifically a clash between Disney and Google over YouTube TV distribution, which he called an “anti-trust” issue.
He signaled optimism that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will either raise or scrap its 39 percent national ownership cap on broadcasters in the first half of 2026. CNN’s Jake Tapper noted during the Kimmel fallout that the regulatory hurdle stands in the way of a potential merger, musing whether it was connected to Sinclair’s eagerness to get involved.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! was removed from the air for several days in September after the host argued that the “MAGA gang” was “desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered [conservative activist] Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”
The comments were then highlighted by FCC Chair Brendan Carr on a podcast, triggering a pile-on by affiliate conglomerates Nexstar and Sinclair, which led to ABC pulling Kimmel while launching an internal review.
Kimmel was later re-established and Sinclair later restored his program on September 26.
Sinclair said its decision was made “independent of any government interaction or influence.”
In his return monologue following the suspension, Kimmel said it was “never [his] intention” to “make light” of the assassination and grew emotional as he spoke about Erika Kirk’s act of forgiving Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing her husband on the Utah Valley University campus on Sept 10.
He did not, however, offer an apology for his misleading comments.