Jimmy Kimmel won’t be broadcast to millions despite TV return until he meets two conditions

Jimmy Kimmel’s latest TV show episode will not be broadcast to millions, despite agreeing to a deal with Disney for his return.

Kimmel's show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, was issued a suspension by the company over comments he made on air about the assassination of Conservative pundit Charlie Kirk.

Kimmel had said on his ABC show, whose parent company is Disney, that Trump supporters had been trying to present the man accused of killing Kirk ‘as anything other than one of them’.

In addition, he stated that supporters of US President Donald Trump were trying to ‘score political points’ from Kirk’s assassination.

This led multiple affiliates of ABC to boycott the TV show, and the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission threatened fines and an investigation following the comments.

Kimmel was suspended, leading to widespread outrage, including hundreds of Hollywood celebrities calling for his reinstatement.

Jimmy Kimmel's suspension led to protests organised by the WGA (Stephanie Keith via Getty Images)

In addition to this, prominent conservatives - including Ted Cruz - slammed the decision, leading to a U-Turn from Disney.

Despite this, however, millions will still be unable to watch Kimmel’s show return tonight (23 Sept).

Sinclair Broadcasting Group, an American media conglomerate that owns various stations affiliated with ABC, have announced that despite Kimmel’s return, they will not be airing his newest episode.

In a statement published by the company yesterday, they stated that Jimmy Kimmel Live! will be ‘replaced’ with news coverage, and that they are in discussions with ABC.

"Beginning Tuesday night, Sinclair will be preempting 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' across our ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming," the broadcaster said in a statement on social media.

Kimmel's comments were made about the man accused of shooting Charlie Kirk at a campus event earlier this month (The Salt Lake Tribune via Getty Images)

"Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show's potential return."

Previously, Sinclair had called for Kimmel to apologise for his comments and stated that they believed he needed to donate to Turning Point USA, the conservative non-profit founded by Kirk advocating for conservative politics in schools and colleges.

The broadcasting group were joined in their calls for Disney to pull Kimmel’s show by Nexstar Media Group, who are the two largest ABC station owners.

Nexstar have yet to confirm whether Kimmel’s show will air upon its return.

Per a report in Deadline, Kimmel’s return came after days of meetings amongst Disney’s top brass that ended Monday night.

Kimmel will be returning to American TV screens on Tuesday night (Randy Holmes via Getty Images)

When asked if there would be restrictions on what Kimmel would talk about in his return, a source said to Deadline that ‘Jimmy will say what Jimmy wants to say’.

Disney released a statement announcing the news of the comedian’s return to the airwaves, saying: “Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country.

"It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive. We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday."

LADbible group have reached out to Sinclair Broadcasting Group for comment.