Consumers have voted with their dollars by cancelling their Hulu and Disney+ subscriptions in droves.I’m sure the more immediate threats of preemption fees weighed on the decision makers at Nexstar and Sinclair. But these are the actions of private companies reacting to what they see as threats to free speech. This is not a small thing, even if it did not weigh as heavily in the balance.
They’re also boycotting Nexstar and Sinclair by hitting them where it hurts: their ad dollars. On Reddit, consumers are keeping track of the companies that are advertising with their affiliates, and telling them that they will no longer do business there.
Those efforts are already having an impact on some companies.
The performing arts nonprofit Seattle Theatre Group has postponed future advertising with the Sinclair-owned station KOMO, which is based in Washington, although it currently does not have any ads running on the station.
“In response to both ABC and Sinclair's actions to limit free speech, which we do not agree with, we paused all future campaigns that we have scheduled with KOMO,” an STG spokesperson told Marketplace over email.
The STG spokesperson said that the organization “received many emails and notes from patrons and concerned individuals” from the greater Puget Sound region in Washington.
“Our decision to pause our future ads is both in response to that outreach and our own concerns with ABC and Sinclair,” the spokesperson said.
Another Washington-based company, Best Plumbing, issued a statement on its website in support of free speech after consumers began writing letters to them.
“Freedom of expression isn’t left or right. It’s not a partisan issue. People across the spectrum agree that silencing voices sets a dangerous precedent for all of us,” the statement said.
The company also wrote, “We will review pending contracts and upcoming campaigns to ensure our advertising continues to align with both our business goals and the values of transparency and fairness our customers expect.”
Marketplace reached out to Nexstar and Sinclair for comment, but did not receive a response by publication time.
Broadcasters face increasing competition from streaming services, and this decision isn’t helping.
“We are in an era of cord-cutting, where consumers are already turning away from local television. Broadcast stations simply don’t have the same captive audiences they once did. For affiliates, that makes reputational missteps riskier — they can’t afford to give viewers or advertisers another reason to disengage when both groups are already drifting away,” said Stacy Jones, CEO of the marketing agency Hollywood Branded.
Media buyers, or the ones who buy ad space, take note when consumer boycotts target advertisers.
“Media buyers flag the stations, track coverage, and weigh whether a controversy could stick. Even if dollars don’t pull right away, you’ll see brands get cautious with renewals or shift toward safer placements,” Jones said.
This is the “grassroots” speaking up for conventional values in a very unconventional case. People with access to the media, both in government and in business, tried to make the murder of Charlie Kirk a turning point issue. But this was not the death of George Floyd, or Medgar Evers. Some wanted to use it for fundamental change; but the majority didn’t. That majority pressured Disney; but they also reacted directly against the actions of the people who cancelled a TV show basically to show they could. Nexstar and Sinclair tried to flex their power. People with the real power, people at the grassroots level, flexed back. And they won.
Did those complaints and challenges affect Nexstar and Sinclair’s actions, too? Does it matter? The fact that other companies with business relationships to the two affiliate owners responded and defended the popular concept of free speech is what matters.
It’s not just Trump’s popularity and approval that’s melting away. His entire agenda is toxic, turning septic.
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