The FCC ABC license renewals fight has pulled in an unusually broad set of critics, with liberal groups, conservative free-market organizations, former FCC officials and Disney telling Chairman Brendan Carr that the agency is using broadcast licensing as a cudgel against speech President Trump dislikes.
The proceeding concerns eight television stations owned and operated by ABC. Carr ordered ABC to submit early renewal applications, after which the Center for American Rights and the Media Research Center, both conservative groups, asked the Federal Communications Commission to deny the renewals. Oppositions to those petitions were due July 29, with replies due August 5.
The FCC has described the matter as tied to possible violations of anti-discrimination rules involving diversity, equity and inclusion practices. Critics told the agency the timing and surrounding statements point elsewhere: Jimmy Kimmel, ABC programming and Trump’s long-running anger at the network.
In a filing, former Republican and Democratic FCC chairs and commissioners from the Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Clinton and Obama administrations accused Carr of running a campaign to suppress disfavored speech and serve the president’s personal interests. They said the proceeding sends broadcasters a warning that carrying speech the administration dislikes could put their licenses at risk.
Can the FCC revoke ABC licenses?
Legal experts cited by Ars Technica say a 1996 change to U.S. telecommunications law made broadcast license non-renewal very difficult. The early renewal order also does not move the expiration dates for the eight ABC licenses, which are scheduled for renewal between 2028 and 2031.
Broadcast licenses are government permissions to use public airwaves. The FCC can review renewals, but critics in the docket said the agency has historically reserved non-routine treatment for severe operational failures or misconduct, not ordinary disputes over programming choices.
A filing by 14 conservative and free-market groups, including the Center for Individual Freedom, American Commitment and Americans for Tax Reform, did not defend ABC’s programming. Instead, the groups warned that if Carr lowers the bar for special license treatment now, a future FCC could use the same tool against conservative or religious broadcasters.
The American Civil Liberties Union, the Knight First Amendment Institute and other free-speech groups made a similar constitutional argument from the other side of the aisle. They told the FCC that Carr’s and Trump’s statements show the agency is trying to pressure Disney to censor viewpoints they dislike.
Disney and the ABC stations denied violating FCC rules on news distortion, broadcast hoaxes, equal time or discrimination. In its filing, Disney said Trump has for years demanded that the FCC revoke ABC licenses over speech he opposes, and that Carr has followed with investigations and document demands since taking office.
The company called the early review of all eight stations premature and punitive, saying the FCC’s DEI inquiry has not found a violation. Disney also argued that even if a violation were proven, the agency has remedies short of refusing to renew a broadcast license.
Carr has several ABC-related proceedings open. One asks whether The View should remain exempt from the equal-time rule as a bona fide news interview program. ABC urged viewers to contact the FCC over that inquiry, while the agency accused Disney of misleading viewers about the law.
The dispute widened again after ABC and NBC did not air a July 16 Trump primetime address on broadcast television, although they streamed it online and covered it in breaking-news segments. Trump again called for license revocations, and the Center for American Rights told Carr the decision should count against ABC in the renewal proceeding. Disney said Carr later suggested the decision could be considered by the commission.
The docket has drawn more than 153,000 comments, mostly from individuals. Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez said the public comments showed resistance to letting the agency decide who counts as a journalist or what qualifies as real news. Carr has said the FCC will follow the facts and the law.
This story draws on original reporting from Ars Technica.
