UPDATED 9/27/25 1:41PM: Nexstar and Sinclair relented and ended their boycott of Kimmel. His show will air in Connecticut on Monday.

Disney steers itself away from the middle of Constitutional crisis. Will Nexstar turn its wheel? (still via YouTube & Disney)

Local members of Congress are calling out Nexstar Media Group, the owner of WWLP, for its role in the suspension of ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel. Last week James McGovern, a whose Worcester-based district includes Amherst, Greenfield and Northampton, demanded answers from Nexstar leadership after the company said it would preempt Kimmel.

On Monday, Disney, which owns ABC, announced Kimmel would return to the air Tuesday. The spotlight now shifts to Nexstar and other affiliate owners that had initially said they would not carry Kimmel’s show after Federal Communications Commission chair’s threats and since. McGovern’s letter was a sign that critics of the suspension were looking beyond Disney to other parties complicit in Donald Trump’s censorship campaign.

WWLP carries NBC programming, not ABC. However, the station is Nexstar’s only property in Massachusetts and it serves congressional districts that represent the 413. In his letter, McGovern expressed alarm at Nexstar’s preemption and how FCC chair Brendan Carr’s threatened to revoke licenses of ABC stations unless the network canned Kimmel.

“Using the power of the United States Government to silence those who speak their mind not only tramples on the United States Constitution, it represents an unprecedented assault on freedom of expression,” he wrote.

Trump Government v. McGovernment. (still via YouTube/Rules Committee)

“While private companies like ABC and Disney are not necessarily prohibited from firing someone for protected speech, the federal government is—and coercing a private company to do so is extraordinarily suspect,” the congressman continued.

The Republican first reported McGovern’s letter.

Kimmel’s September 15 monologue incensed right-wing fans of Charlie Kirk, the conservative celebrity and provocateur a gunman murdered on September 10. Kimmel had mocked conservatives for trying to claim the alleged assassin, Tyler Robinson, was something other than one of them. A fuller picture the apparent killer shows he defies a simple categorization. Nevertheless, it remains true that conservatives have been pointing the finger at their political enemies.

As the right simmered, Carr made his threat on Wednesday. Nexstar, which will need FCC approval to complete a $6.2 billion deal to buy rival Tegna, announced its preemption first. Disney, already panicking, then pulled the plug on Kimmel’s show.

The suspension escalated into a full-blown crisis for Disney and even for the Trump administration. Consumers cancelled Disney streaming subscriptions. Prominent conservatives panned Carr’s bullying, if largely on the false notion Dems would do the same them. Disney let Kimmel out of the mouse trap on Monday. Even Carr has pulled his metaphorical crowbar away from Mickey’s knee.

Just after Disney’s Monday announcement, a spokesperson for Nexstar did not provide comment on McGovern’s letter or Kimmel’s return. On Tuesday, it did not respond to a query about what specifically from Kimmel’s monologue it found was “not in the public interest.”

Sinclair, a conservative owner of local stations, announced its own preemption after Disney’s move last week. It said the censorship show would go on after Monday’s reversal while Nexstar dawdled. On Tuesday morning WWLP’s owner said it would stay the preemption course, too.

In a statement, United States Senator Elizabeth Warren highlighted how the boycotting station owners need something from Trump. Both have deals pending. Censoring Kimmel, she said, “reeks of corruption.”

“Nexstar, the largest TV broadcaster, needs Donald Trump’s approval for a $6 billion deal. If approved, Nexstar would control TV stations reaching 80% of households — violating the cap set by Congress to protect against monopolies,” Warren said. “Sinclair, the nation’s second-largest broadcaster, is similarly waiting on Donald Trump’s approval for a broadcast deal and is planning even larger upcoming deals.”

As an NBC affiliate, WWLP doesn’t air Kimmel but right now, its ABC-branded sister stations still don’t either. (WMP&I)

Nexstar’s move will not have any immediate impact on the Western Mass media market. WWLP is not an ABC affiliate. Management at Gray Media-owned WGGB, the ABC affiliate for Springfield, told WMP&I the station would air Kimmel as scheduled. (Sinclair owned WGGB from 1998 to 2007).

That could be helpful for some viewers south of the border. Nexstar owns ABC affiliate WTNH in Connecticut. WGGB’s signal reaches into the Constitution State somewhat.

Reading between the lines, it is possible to see an offramp for Nexstar. With the House of Mouse veering away from a reputational iceberg, consumers may now turn to the local preempting stations. Boycotts of the stations or pressure on  local advertisers could be in the offing. Yet, McGovern’s inquiry is still outstanding.

The ranking Democrat on the Rules Committee gave Nexstar until October 3 to answer questions. McGovern is in line to chair the powerful committee should Democrats win next year’s midterms. If Nexstar does not answer, and McGovern becomes Rules chair again, he will could force answers from the company.

The Congressman requested a clarification about what was so outrageous about Kimmel’s comments. He also asked Nexstar to state whether it company opposed any content critical of Kirk or if it would air content from Trump administration officials who call the Democratic Party a “domestic extremist organization” and a “terrorist network.”

McGovern’s seven question (of eight) summed up the thrust of his inquiry.

“Will Nexstar remove other content from its owned and partner television stations affiliated with ABC that criticizes President Donald Trump or the Trump Administration?” he asked.