More than a few viewers and observers, even some who work in the television business, were surprised that local station owners Nexstar and Sinclair made the first move in the Jimmy Kimmel saga by pulling his show off their air.

But warning signs of discord between networks and affiliates had been flashing for years. Although the Hatfield-McCoy relationship has been fraught since the birth of the medium, streaming and cord-cutting has turned financial skirmishes into an existential contest. There have recently been battles over the 10 p.m. hour and fights about the “leaking” of premium sports and prestige shows from broadcast to streaming. Late-night, then as now, has been a battleground. In 2020, NBCUniversal had to walk back plans to stream Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers at 8 p.m. a

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