I am soooo proud of what everyday Americans were able to accomplish by choosing to boycott Disney/ABC/Hulu etc. This mass-unsubscribing event was set off when they chose to sideline Jimmy Kimmel over a very flimsy excuse to suit the whims of an administration that is trying to establish a fascist/tyrannical/authoritarian/dictatorship government. The firing was not just about Jimmy Kimmel. It was an attack on the Freedom of Speech as spelled out in the First Amendment. It was about controlling media. It was about attacking anyone not being loyal to a madman. The people stepped up and drew the line. Disney backed down, though their reputation is in tatters and they'll have lots of work to do to win back those subscriptions.
However, the work is NOT over!
Sinclair Broadcast Group owns or operates 294? (numbers vary by source, but that was the most recent number I could find) television stations across the United States. 35+ are affiliated with ABC. It's estimated, with their affiliations with ABC, FOX, CBS, NBC and more, Sinclair reaches about 40% of American households.
"The Smith family founded and runs Sinclair Broadcast Group, the second-largest US TV station operator known for conservative-leaning news. Under David Smith’s leadership, Sinclair expanded rapidly and aligned closely with Trump, sparking criticism for political bias. Sinclair owns many ABC affiliates and has clashed publicly with figures like Jimmy Kimmel." "Over the years, Sinclair has become known for inserting conservative commentary into its broadcasts, especially through “must-run” segments that stations are required to air. These segments have included national editorials often aligned with Republican talking points." - Times Now. (good article)
Speaking of their "must-run segments" there are viral videos showing how their newscasters are told to say the same things on all the stations. Most of it is pushing right wing talking points, much like fox is known for doing. I saw a great recent mashup in the last couple of days and can't find it now, but the video below, even though it is old, is really telling and VERY INTERESTING. Sinclair hasn't changed.
Sinclair is saying they won't put on the Jimmy Kimmel Show on their ABC stations and will instead run a news show during that time slot. At first, they announced they would air a tribute to Charlie Kirk instead, but they have backed off on that.
Sinclair -
The Sinclairs have been using networks/stations across the country to promote their right-wing ideology. Tell them you are boycotting and urging your friends and social networks to boycott ALL Sinclair stations and their advertisers:
While researching this topic I came across ALEXANDRA SOKOLOFF's Substack account. Here's her article on the whole Kimmel fiasco with an update specifically on Sinclair -
It includes script suggestions to use when you contact Sinclair or one of their advertisers. Note: Her link about Sinclair advertisers was specific to Seattle.
"That leaves us with Nexstar, which owns a similar number of affiliates. They also told Disney they would pre-empt Kimmel's show, and together that adds up to about a third of all ABC network stations in the US. If Nexstar sticks with Sinclair, then ABC and Disney will lose millions of dollars in ad revenue before they can even get into court to force them to put Kimmel back on their stations." - Hot Air
I have a feeling I will have to post about them this week, too. I guess it depends on what Jimmy Kimmel says on his show tonight. Tonight's show will likely get lots of attention.
