off the air

1. Not being broadcast, as in Once they knew they were off the air, the panelists burst out laughing. This idiom, along with the antonym on the air (“being broadcast”), dates from the 1920s, air being considered a medium for radio-wave transmission.

Example Sentences

We’re concerned about what you’re gonna say tonight, and we decided that the best route is to take the show off the air,’” Kimmel said before the audience interjected with boos.

From Los Angeles Times

Speakers addressed the crowds, speaking out against the threat to 1st Amendment rights, coming only days after late night show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” was temporarily pulled off the air over the host’s comments on the slaying of Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk.

From Los Angeles Times

ABC then pulled the show off the air entirely.

From BBC

The station group pulled Kimmel off the air Sept. 17 following a backlash over the host’s comments related to the killing of right-wing activist Charile Kirk.

From Los Angeles Times

“If the government can force a network to pull a late-night show off the air and do so in plain view, it can do . . . a lot worse.”

From Salon