Randy Holmes/Disney via Getty Images; AP Photo/David Zalubowski
- ABC reinstated “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on Tuesday after suspending the show last week.
- But Sinclair and Nexstar said they will no longer air the late-night program on their ABC stations.
- Mark Cuban says the move could “backfire” and weaken the economics of broadcast TV.
Mark Cuban is sounding the alarm bell over a television shake-up that could have unintended consequences for the entire broadcast industry.
The billionaire investor and former Shark Tank star weighed in on X after two of the US’s largest local station groups — Sinclair and Nexstar — announced they would stop airing ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
The decision means dozens of ABC-affiliated stations across the country, including in markets like Washington, DC, Seattle, and Portland, will no longer carry the late-night show.
“This might backfire in the long run,” Cuban wrote.
He said that ABC, along with other broadcast networks, has already shifted much of its best scripted programming onto streaming platforms.
If networks cut investment in scripted shows for broadcast — leaving mostly sports, news, and reality — “the economics of the shows change completely,” he said.
A turbulent week for ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’
Cuban’s comments come at a tumultuous moment for Kimmel and his show. ABC suspended “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” last week after the host made contentious remarks about the death of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.
The network reinstated the program on Tuesday, and the comeback episode proved Kimmel can still pull an audience: 6.26 million viewers tuned in, according to Disney, despite the show not airing on nearly a quarter of ABC affiliates.
Randy Holmes/Disney via Getty Images
That figure is well above the 1.77 million average viewers the show drew in the second quarter of this year. Disney also said Kimmel’s opening monologue racked up more than 26 million views across YouTube and social platforms.
Still, the late-night genre is operating against a shrinking linear pie.
Broadcast TV accounted for just 18.5% of total television usage in June, while streaming climbed to 46%, according to Nielsen’s The Gauge, a new low for broadcast’s share.
For networks, Sinclair and Nexstar’s blackout risks are accelerating a vicious cycle: fewer shows carried on local TV means smaller audiences, which in turn makes it harder to justify costly scripted programming.
Sinclair and Nexstar didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider made outside regular working hours.
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