Washington Examiner Senior Writer Joe Concha argued that the suspension of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel isn’t about free speech, but a free market.
Concha said from a business decision, pulling Kimmel off the air was a “no-brainer.”
“This isn’t about free speech, it’s about a free market,” Concha said on Fox News’ Hannity. “Supply and Demand. The supply here, in Kimmel’s case, was patently toxic. As for the demand, it was almost non-existent.”
ABC pulled Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show off the air indefinitely on Wednesday after the host suggested that the alleged shooter, Tyler Robinson, was aligned with Trump’s ‘MAGA’ movement.
Robinson allegedly shot and killed Kirk from 200 yards away while Kirk was speaking at Utah Valley University last week.
Concha compared Kimmel’s late-night show ratings to Fox News’ Gutfeld! and said Kimmel’s declining viewership is how he became an “ex-late-night host.”
Gutfeld! averaged 3.2 million total viewers, while Kimmel’s average audience is 1.6 million, according to Nielsen Ratings.
“In the end, Jimmy Kimmel isn’t losing his ability to speak out about whatever the hell he wants on Substack,” Concha said on Hannity. “He can join Don Lemon and Jim Acosta, Joy Reid, [and] Chuck Todd.”
“The difference is he’s not going to get paid $15 $16 million from Disney to do it,” Concha added.
Concha also appeared on Fox & Friends First on Friday, where he further elaborated on this point.
“This was a last straw moment for Disney and ABC [and] the affiliates at Nextstar and Sinclair,” Concha said. “This was such a disgusting lie about the shooter [and] of a father in Charlie Kirk of two young children, a husband, [and] an only son of a mom and dad.”
Since Kimmel’s suspension, media figures have called it an attack on free speech. Concha questioned the other networks that have been arguing this.
Concha said Kimmel was losing millions for ABC, a public relations “nightmare,” and that the affiliates were finally “fed up” with him.
Nexstar Media Group said its ABC affiliates would not air Kimmel’s show before ABC announced its own decision to pull Kimmel off the air.
Nexstar is currently seeking approval from the Federal Communications Commission for a multi-billion-dollar merger with Tegna, which is the basis for the argument that this decision is an attack on free speech.
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When asked about this by the Fox & Friends First host Carley Shimkus, Concha said that the “money is important” but that Kimmel was bad for the brand ahead of this merger.
“If you’re buying a company and there’s a really cancerous thing within that brand, you have to remove that tumor before that actual merger can go through,” Concha said about Kimmel.
“It may have something to do with that merger or purchase, but at the same time, if you’re buying something, you want to make sure the car is running well, and Jimmy Kimmel was part of that car, and he was making sure that engine was spewing out some horribly toxic stuff,” Concha added.