Sinclair and Nexstar are putting Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show back on the air

Sinclair and Nexstar, the broadcast station owners that took “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” off the air, announced that the show will return to their ABC affiliates Friday.

Sinclair and Nexstar, the broadcast station owners that took “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” off the air amid criticism of the host’s comments about the assassination of Charlie Kirk, said that the show will return Friday night on their ABC affiliates.

“Our objective throughout this process has been to ensure that programming remains accurate and engaging for the widest possible audience,” Sinclair said in a statement on Friday afternoon.

“We take seriously our responsibility as local broadcasters to provide programming that serves the interests of our communities, while also honoring our obligations to air national network programming,” said the company, which owns and operates 30 ABC affiliate stations in 27 markets.

Roughly three hours later, Nexstar said it was also bringing back Kimmel's program on its dozens of ABC affiliates.

Sinclair and Nexstar, which together own 70 ABC affiliates across the U.S., announced last week they would pre-empt airings of Kimmel’s talk show after the comedian criticized Republicans for their response to Kirk’s killing. Federal Communications Chairman Brendan Carr, who regulates the broadcast television industry, accused Kimmel of “the sickest conduct possible.”