Poll finds broad opposition to government pressure on broadcasters

Most Americans are opposed to government pressure on broadcasters to get rid of shows including speech it may disagree with, according to a new poll.

In the Economist/YouGov poll, 68 percent did not support the government pushing broadcasters to nix shows, while 13 percent said the opposite and 19 percent were unsure.

The poll took place over the weekend as controversy swirled around late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension by ABC. Kimmel sparked a firestorm over comments made about conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination, even garnering a rebuke from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Disney later said Kimmel will return to air Tuesday, adding in a statement it initially removed him “to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for the country.”

The Economist/YouGov poll also found Kimmel’s favorability at 43 percent, while his unfavorability rating came in at 37 percent.

FCC chair Brendan Carr accused Democrats of “distortion” when it came to the agency’s part in Kimmel’s suspension.

“The reality is, there’s a lot of Democrats out there that are engaged in a campaign of projection and distortion. And distortion is they’re completely misrepresenting the work of the FCC and what we’ve been doing,” Carr said previously.

President Trump and his allies celebrated Disney’s decision to initially suspend Kimmel.

The Economist/YouGov poll took place from Sept. 19 to 22, featuring 1,551 respondents and plus or minus 3.4 percentage points as its margin of error.