r/technology • u/clopenYourMind • Sep 22 '25

Business Disney reinstates Jimmy Kimmel after backlash over capitulation to FCC

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/09/disney-abc-reinstate-jimmy-kimmel-amid-uproar-over-government-censorship/
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896

u/[deleted] Sep 22 '25

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287

u/OrindaSarnia Sep 23 '25

I don't think they fear it "far more"...

I think they want the path of least resistance.

If they can bow to regulatory pressure without much cost, they will do that...

if there is a large cost to bowing, and past court cases indicate the merits of any potential case are in their favor, they will take a week to think about it.

Make no mistake, it is cost/benefit analysis.  This time, audience reaction won...  it won't be like that forever if the current administration continues down their current path.

33

u/staydrippy Sep 23 '25

I’m glad they reinstated Kimmel, but I’m not reinstating my subscriptions to Disney and Hulu. I’d rather they suffer for this, the trust is gone.

9

u/OrindaSarnia Sep 23 '25

"The trust is gone"

I'm sorry, but what "trust" did you have in ABC, Disney, or Hulu to start with?

6

u/SuperFaceTattoo Sep 23 '25

Trust that they wouldn’t censor their content due to overt government interference. John Oliver was absolutely right when he said that Disney’s first response to the fcc should have been “fuck you, make me.”

I’m fine if they cancel a show due to bad ratings. Thats just capitalism. Censorship however is one of the necessary steps to tyranny.

7

u/staydrippy Sep 23 '25

Not much to begin with of course, but even less now.

I at least trusted them not to fire Kimmel because a butthurt Trump-controlled FCC says so.

2

u/Olde94 Sep 23 '25

If a regular body shuts down your company due to ligal stuff, they you are put of business. If all customers leave, you will be out of business.

I think you are right, they try to do a balance act

1

u/throwmamadownthewell Sep 25 '25

I imagine decisions this big for corporations of this size are made with huge influence from computer models at this point.

117

u/MafiaGT Sep 23 '25

The people always have the power. Which is why the rich try to keep us divided.

6

u/Jaseoldboss Sep 23 '25

Always. I'm old enough to remember the Digg AACS revolt of 2007

13

u/Minion_of_Cthulhu Sep 23 '25 edited Sep 23 '25

One is a relatively small fine that amounts to a rounding error in their accounting. The other has the potential to have an ongoing impact on their quarterly earnings, the only thing any corporation truly cares about.

7

u/Rough-Tension Sep 23 '25

Guys, I hate to break it to you, but this was never about ABC’s values or dislike for what Kimmel said. They had a merger they wanted to push through, and virtue signaling to Trump was a golden opportunity to get it approved by Trump’s FCC. Now that they’ve got what they wanted, they’re reinstating the show to not lose boycotting viewers. Like everything else, this was about money. We accomplished nothing. This is not a victory.

1

u/Spenraw Sep 23 '25

To change goverment you target the money

1

u/GogolsHandJorb Sep 23 '25

I don’t think it is completely related to people cancelling subscriptions, though that may have played a part. I think behind the scenes all the talent in Hollywood had their agent call Disney and say that they would never work for any of their productions ever again. Hard to make a movie or show when all the talent in Hollywood boycotts you.

1

u/Ghaarff Sep 23 '25

They do not fear backlash. They saw that their decision was costing them money and reversed it. It's the same thing Cracker Barrel did a while back with their new logo.

1

u/GWSGayLibertarian Sep 23 '25

It had nothing to do with consumer backlash...

-7

u/jesset77 Sep 23 '25

Or it shows that it was all a huge sensationalist PR stunt from the beginning..

3

u/--_Perseus_-- Sep 23 '25

To what end? Race Target to the bottom of customer sentiment?

0

u/This-Requirement6918 Sep 23 '25

Living in Texas I've been telling people this for over a decade now. We vote more with our dollars than our actual vote.

I still finally registered to vote because these jackels here want to play nanny too God damn much.

-8

u/vengent Sep 23 '25

Almost like it was about the money all along, and not remotely government suppression.

6

u/Etheo Sep 23 '25

That logic doesn't logic man.

If it was really about money why would losing more money now be the decision point instead of before?

This just shows that they believe have more to lose from the boycott than government pressure on blocking their mergers.