NEWS ALERT: Kimmel’s saga isn’t over as major operator won’t air show, staff makes demands

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FROM NEW YORK POST: Sinclair Broadcast Group revealed that it won’t air “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on its ABC affiliate stations –despite Disney’s decision to bring back the late-night talk show beginning Tuesday.

Kimmel, whose show was pulled following his controversial comments about slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk, negotiated his return with Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger and his No. 2, Disney Entertainment Co-Chair Dana Walden, sources with knowledge of the situation told The Post.

Sinclair had previously called on the talk show host to issue a “direct apology” to the Kirk family and make a donation to Turning Point USA, the conservative nonprofit co-founded by Kirk.

“Mr. Kimmel’s remarks were inappropriate and deeply insensitive at a critical moment for our country,” Vice Chairman Jason Smith said in a statement after Kimmel’s axing last week.

Sinclair said it is still negotiating with Kimmel, who will apparently be addressing his comments during a monologue on his return broadcast Tuesday. But according to some sources,  he is still refusing to apologize for his remarks about Kirk’s alleged killer being part of the “MAGA gang.” Still, Kimmel has not publicly declared whether he will apologize.

“Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return,” Sinclair said. “Beginning Tuesday night, Sinclair will be preempting ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!‘ across our ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming,”

Sinclair is the largest operator of ABC-affiliated stations among all station groups, operating 38 of the 240 ABC stations. It is unclear whether Nexstar Media Group, which owns 32 ABC affiliates, will also preempt “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” When the controversy over the comments began, Nexstar announced that it would preempt the show indefinitely, calling the comments offensive and insensitive. The decision was made unilaterally by Nexstar’s executive team. Together, Nextar and Sinclair own about a quarter of the ABC affiliate stations, and many are in influential markets.

Meanwhile, insiders say the real reason Jimmy Kimmel is returning is for his staff.

“He is coming back for everyone that works for him and out of respect for them, he wanted everyone in his crew not to miss any pay and any more work than they already have missed,” an insider told Daily Mail. “As much as he wanted to leave ABC and expected not to be coming back at all, he is happy that the people he works with will have some time to figure out their next steps, because what this taught Jimmy was that he might not be leaving ABC now, he will once his contract is up unless they offer him a boatload of money.”

The source says Kimmel is “mad” at Disney for “doing this to him and his team.”

During the monologue, the source said the late-night host will “give us a glimpse of what he has been dealing with the last few days, and we will all know what his plans are for the future. ”

Sources told the Daily Mail that Kimmel’s staff expect him to “come out swinging” in his monologue, and if he doesn’t, it could mean trouble.

“Staff at the show don’t know whether he will apologize, or decide to criticize Disney and ABC’s move,” the Mail reports. “But the insider has made clear that there could be consequences if Kimmel doesn’t defend himself and fight back against censorship.”

“We are depending on him to stand up for what’s right,” the insider reportedly said. “If he doesn’t, there will be a mutiny.”

BREAKING: ABC News announces decision on Jimmy Kimmel show

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