ABC affiliates owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group opted against airing its much-publicized Charlie Kirk tribute special on Friday night. The broadcasting conglomerate owns the most ABC affiliates in the country but is best known—until last week anyway—for its “must-run” segments highlighting conservative viewpoints that air on local news networks across the country. These segments inspired a Last Week Tonight episode and a Deadspin video that became the most upvoted video in the history of Reddit, showcasing the homogenized views Sinclair offers. As reported last week, the local news giant became news itself after it announced it would be replacing the suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live! with a tribute to Charlie Kirk, who was shot dead during a campus speech earlier this month. Sinclair stipulated that they would keep Kimmel off its 40 affiliate channels “until formal discussions are held with ABC regarding the network’s commitment to professionalism and accountability.” Sinclair also wanted Kimmel to apologize to Kirk’s family and make a donation to his conservative youth outreach organization, Turning Point USA. In the end, Sinclair didn’t air the special, announcing nine minutes before it was set to air that it could be found on YouTube. Sinclair posted a statement stating it would “continue to air ABC network programming as scheduled in the late-night time period.” Viewers already tuning in were treated to an installment of Celebrity Family Feud instead.
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