Part 5/10:
However, the fallout from this decision exposed cracks within the industry. Sinclair, a major distributor of ABC affiliates, announced they would refuse to air Kimmel's show when it returned, opting instead to replace it with news programming. This act of defiance signals a shift where corporate distributors are asserting independence from the network’s political stance, challenging the narrative that the reinstatement was solely a matter of corporate compliance or federal pressure.