Nexstar, Sinclair black out Jimmy Kimmel: A look at TV’s history of show boycotts

Straight Arrow News

Watch Nexstar, Sinclair black out Jimmy Kimmel: A look at TV’s history of show boycotts - Straight Arrow News on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00We know media conglomerates Nextstar and Sinclair are not showing Jimmy Kimmel live across their dozens of ABC affiliates.

00:07But has this ever happened before?

00:10It doesn't happen often, but there is precedent for this sort of show boycott.

00:17There really aren't too many examples of this because typically networks know the rules and regulations

00:23over what content is acceptable to broadcast across public airwaves.

00:28But the few times this has happened, the common theme is disagreements over whether content is in the public's interest.

00:36And the FCC requires any show aired across public airwaves must serve the interest of the public.

00:44Let's first flash back to 1993, when NYPD Blue first debuted.

00:5057 local ABC affiliates, a similar chunk that we're seeing today boycott Jimmy Kimmel live,

00:56refused to air this series.

00:58The general manager of WMBB TV, an ABC affiliate in Panama City Beach, spoke of the blackout at the time,

01:07writing,

01:07The show is very well produced, but the sexual content, profanity, and violence were, I felt, a little bit too strong.

01:16I have been in the business for over 30 years, and I have never before made a decision not to run a network show.

01:21I have received around 600 phone calls congratulating me on making that decision,

01:26and not more than five or six complaining about us not carrying it.

01:30For three years, he continued to air alternative programming until ABC implemented a show rating of TV-14, meaning not for children to watch.

01:41Then-ABC president Bob Iger played a role 30 years ago in drawing up just how far NYPD Blue could push the boundary.

01:50One of the show's co-creators told CNN he set out to push the boundaries of what was acceptable on broadcast TV.

01:57And part of that was he and Bob Iger wound up drawing dirty pictures like two nine-year-old schoolboys,

02:05trying to determine exactly how much of the body could be shown.

02:09The FCC even tried to impose a $1.4 million fine on ABC affiliates across the country,

02:17who aired a 2003 episode over a nudity scene.

02:21The case went all the way to the Supreme Court, which ruled the FCC didn't give affiliates enough heads up

02:28that brief nudity or expletives could lead to sanctions, so the fine was thrown out.

02:35Another example of a show boycott by some network affiliates.

02:39This time, it was NBC affiliates preempting the show The Book of Daniel,

02:45which featured a priest with a gay son who spoke to Jesus.

02:49Nine NBC affiliates refused to air the program over concerns the show was blasphemous,

02:55anti-Christian, and therefore didn't serve their audiences.

03:00The general manager of Little Rock, Arkansas's NBC affiliate said at the time,

03:04our relationship with NBC always provided for the right to reject programming.

03:10Subsequent viewing of the material within The Book of Daniel

03:13leaves me no choice but to do my job and uphold the standards of our community.

03:18The network ultimately dropped the show from its programming after just three episodes.

03:24There are also way earlier examples of affiliates blacking out shows dating back decades.

03:30Take this example from back in 1973.

03:34The New York Times reporting 25 CBS affiliates blacked out episodes of mods centering on abortion.

03:41The bottom line, owners of local affiliates have taken a stance against some show content

03:48they found controversial, insensitive, or episodes they found wouldn't best serve their communities.

03:55Fast forward to today, in the case of Jimmy Kimmel,

03:58Nextar and Sinclair offered similar concerns.

04:02Nextar wrote,

04:02continuing to give Mr. Kimmel a broadcast platform in the communities we serve

04:07is simply not in the public interest.

04:10And Sinclair wrote the show won't return until they're confident

04:13it upholds the standards expected of a national broadcast platform.

04:19They feel that Kimmel crossed a moral line in his rhetoric regarding the assassination of Charlie Kirk

04:24that doesn't best serve their local communities.

04:28And as history shows us, media companies can wield the power

04:32to preempt programs on their local airwaves.

04:36But it is rare we see them flex this strength to take a stand.

04:40Thanks for watching our news story.

04:42For more stories that matter to you,

04:44download the Straight Arrow News mobile app today.

04:47For Straight Arrow News, I'm Cara Rucker.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended