Will Jimmy Kimmel Be Back On Shreveport Airwaves This Week?
Less than a week after the production of Jimmy Kimmel Live! was suspended indefinitely, the show will be back on the air nationwide. Ending the indefinite suspension after just 5 days.
When Did Jimmy Kimmel Get Suspended?
ABC, and their parent company Disney, suspended the show and its titular host after public pressure from the federal government. The pressure from the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) and their Chairman Brendan Carr, was felt by affiliate stations from Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group. Those companies had informed ABC/Disney that they would be preempting the show indefinitely.
Today it was announced that Kimmel would be returning to the airwaves on Tuesday, September 23rd. After the announcement was made, KEEL News reached out to local Shreveport market ABC affiliate KTBS to see if they were welcoming Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday night. KTBS has indicated that they will air Kimmel once again, starting on Tuesday.
How Did We Get Here?
On September 17th, 2025, Carr was conducting an online interview when the topic of Kimmel's show came up. It appeared that Carr was threatening the licenses of local broadcasters, and stated "We can do this the easy way or the hard way." Soon after Carr made that statement public, ABC and Disney announced Kimmel's show was off the air.
While Carr continued to defend his statements, and the actions they led to, he faced opposition from some loud voices.
Senators Voice Opposition To The Attack On Free Speech
Republican Senators Ted Cruz and Rand Paul were forceful in their pushback on the FCC's interaction with this situation. Paul went on national TV this weekend to tell NBC that Brendan Carr had 'no business' getting involved in the matter. While Cruz likened Carr's actions to a mafia member. While imitating a Hollywood film gangster voice on a podcast, Cruz said Carr's statement was "right out of Goodfellas"
Both Cruz and Paul fiercely defended the First Amendment in their response.
Hollywood Rallies To Support The First Amendment
Hundreds of major names in entertainment also mounted a defense of the First Amendment, and called on ABC and Disney to return Kimmel to the air. Michael Keaton, Robert De Niro, Tom Hanks, Jennifer Aniston, Natalie Portman, Ben Stiller, Olivia Rodrigo, and hundreds of others added their name to an open letter backing Kimmel.
Disney also lost out on performances due to Kimmel's suspension. 90s music icons Jewel and Sarah McLachlan both pulled out of performances for Disney's Lilith Fair documentary over the weekend. While not mentioning Kimmel's name, the statement from McLachlan said performances would not take place Sunday "to stand in solidarity in support of free speech”
Thousands of customers spent the weekend posting online their cancelation emails from their Disney+ accounts, or details on their canceled Disney vacations/cruises. Financially, its likely that Disney suffered a hit over the last 5 days.
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Additionally, there were theories that if Disney did not reverse course, the same celebrities that signed the letter in support of free speech would likely avoid their projects moving forward. Disney has numerous film and TV franchises that need star power to support them. That includes Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, Lucasfilm, Disney Music, and ESPN. If those same actors and actresses that signed onto the letter took the stance that Jewel and Sarah McLachlan did over the weekend, it would become difficult to produce their content.
But for now, after the decision was made to return Kimmel to the air, it doesn't sound like we'll find out how far that would go.