Who are the ABC affiliate owners who blasted Kimmel?

Nexstar and Sinclair slammed his remarks about Kirk’s killing, then he was removed.

- MAE ANDERSON AND MATT SEDENSKY

NEXSTAR's president said TV host Jimmy Kimmel's comments were "offensive."

Two ABC affiliate owners spoke out against late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel ahead of ABC's decision to suspend the presenter over comments he made about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Their comments highlight the influence that local TV station owners have on national broadcasters such as Disney-owned ABC.

Here are key facts about the two companies:

Nexstar

Nexstar Media Group, based in Irving, Texas, operates 28 ABC affiliates. It said it would pull Kimmel’s show starting last week.

Kimmel’s comments about Kirk's death were “offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse,” said Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar’s broadcasting division.

The company owns or partners with more than 200 stations in 116 U.S. markets. It owns broadcast networks the CW and NewsNation, as well as the political website the Hill and nearly a third of the Food Network.

It hopes to get even bigger. Last month, it announced a $6.2-billion deal to buy Tegna Inc., which owns 64 other TV stations.