FCC Chair Brendan Carr defends ABC affiliates pulling Jimmy Kimmel show after monologue mocking Charlie Kirk

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr joined Sean Hannity on Fox News Wednesday night to explain why Jimmy Kimmel s late-night TV show was abruptly suspended following backlash over his controversial comments about the assassination of Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk Carr stressed that broadcast networks like ABC operate with a license that has a unique obligation to operate in the general interest unlike cable channels such as CNN Broadcasters are different than any other form of communication Carr stated pointing to affiliate groups like Nexstar and Sinclair that informed they would no longer carry Jimmy Kimmel Live He argued that local stations acted appropriately saying they were standing up to serve the interests of their population Over the years the FCC walked away from enforcing that populace interest obligation Carr explained I don t think we re better off as a country for it DISNEY SAYS JIMMY KIMMEL'S SHOW 'WILL BE PRE-EMPTED INDEFINITELY' FOLLOWING CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSIN COMMENTSHannity pressed Carr on whether broadcasters had been abusing their licenses by advancing partisan agendas They went from going for applause from laugh lines to applause lines They went from being court jesters that would make fun of everybody in power to being court clerics and enforcing a very narrow political ideology Carr asserted Carr pointed to what he described as years of narrow partisan circus initiatives and explained the FCC was working to reinvigorate enforcement of the general interest obligation He called Nexstar and Sinclair s decisions unprecedented FCC CHAIR LEVELS THREAT AGAINST ABC DISNEY AFTER KIMMEL SUGGESTED CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSIN WAS 'MAGA' This action in the current era by Nexstar and Sinclair frankly it is unprecedented commented Carr I can t imagine another time when we ve had local broadcasters tell what we call a national programmer like Disney that your content no longer meets the requirements and the values of our locality The dispute erupted after Kimmel suggested that conservatives were trying to deflect responsibility from the MAGA gang in connection with the arrest of -year-old Tyler Robinson the suspect accused in Charlie Kirk s killing Nexstar which is awaiting FCC approval on a multibillion-dollar acquisition reported it would preempt Kimmel s show for the foreseeable future Hours later Disney established ABC would suspend the initiative indefinitely The ACLU blasted the move accusing the Trump administration of using federal pressure to silence critics This is beyond McCarthyism explained Christopher Anders the group s democracy and apparatus director warning of a grave threat to our First Amendment freedoms CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPCarr described Hannity the shift reflected sector realities arguing that late-night shows had alienated broad audiences by prioritizing politics over comedy You can t avoid ratings Carr stated At the end of the day the realm is going to be undefeated Fox News Digital's Joseph A Wulfsohn contributed to this summary