00:00Jimmy Kimmel just hours away from making his late night return.
00:04I'm glad he's back. He deserved it.
00:06It comes nearly a week after Disney pulled Kimmel off the air
00:09following pressure from the FCC chairman and conservative outrage
00:13over comments he made about Charlie Kirk's alleged shooter.
00:17Outside the taping, Kimmel supporters celebrating the decision to bring him back.
00:21I'm just so happy for him.
00:23Free speech. Speech, regardless of where you stand politically, is important.
00:29But the spokesperson for Charlie Kirk's organization, Turning Point USA,
00:33criticizing Disney for caving and calling it their mistake to make.
00:37Now, Nexstar announcing it's joining with Sinclair and won't run Jimmy Kimmel Live.
00:42Combined, the two television station groups account for nearly 60 ABC stations,
00:47which means the program won't be available over broadcast to millions of people,
00:51including in Seattle, Nashville and Washington, D.C.
00:54Nexstar is currently seeking approval for a $6 billion merger from FCC chairman Brendan Carr.
01:00Today, Carr applauded the move to preempt Kimmel, writing,
01:03Democrats simply can't stand that local TV stations for the first time in years
01:08stood up to a national programmer.
01:10Hours before tonight's show, Kimmel also returning to social media.
01:14Missing this guy today, he wrote, along with a photo of him with Norman Lear,
01:18the producer of boundary-breaking shows like All in the Family and The Jeffersons.
01:23Lear was on former President Nixon's enemies list and was known for successfully fighting back
01:28against the FCC in the 1970s over a family-viewing policy that he saw as censorship.
01:34All right, Liz Krois joins us tonight from outside Jimmy Kimmel's studio.
01:37Liz, what do we know about tonight's show?
01:39Well, his guests tonight include Dr. Glenn Powell and also Sarah McLachlan,
01:45who pulled out of performing at an ABC event over the weekend in protest of Kimmel's suspension.
01:50We still don't know what Kimmel will say during his monologue tonight, and if he'll apologize.
01:55Tom.
01:56We thank you for watching.
01:57And remember, stay updated on breaking news and top stories on the NBC News app
02:01or watch live on our YouTube channel.
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