"About a quarter of ABC's usual audience couldn't see the talk show host this week after two major owners of ABC affiliates, Sinclair and Nexstar, refused to carry the show. Those right-leaning companies apparently felt that Kimmel's joke-which included some disputed facts-was so unpardonable that they couldn't expose their viewers to the comedian. They were also the first organizations to pull the plug on Kimmel, after Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr seemed to threaten action."
"It's an artifact of a time when virtually 100 percent of viewers got their shows over the air, via television antennas. Local TV stations were granted slices of the very limited broadcast spectrum to beam their programs and had to meet certain standards to keep that privilege. But that era has passed. Local television stations now reach their audience via cable or internet bundles. Also, networks increasingly stream their programming through apps."
About a quarter of ABC's usual audience missed Jimmy Kimmel after Sinclair and Nexstar refused to carry the show following controversy over a joke and apparent FCC pressure. Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr appeared to threaten action, prompting the affiliates to pull the program. The FCC retains authority to grant or revoke broadcast licenses based on serving the public interest, a power rooted in the over-the-air broadcasting era. Local stations now distribute via cable and internet and networks increasingly stream through apps, yet licensing authority still enables regulatory pressure on networks and affiliates.
Read at WIRED
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