Disney, ABC and eight ABC-owned local stations have filed an ABC FCC license lawsuit seeking to stop the Federal Communications Commission’s accelerated renewal review of their broadcast licenses. The companies say the proceeding is retaliation by the Trump administration for ABC’s reporting and programming, an allegation the FCC disputes.
The plaintiffs asked a federal court to block the FCC from taking, or threatening, action connected to the early renewal applications. They also requested a temporary restraining order, a preliminary injunction and a prompt hearing, according to reporting by The Wall Street Journal, PBS NewsHour and NBC News.
The immediate dispute concerns an April FCC order requiring eight Disney-owned-and-operated stations to apply for license renewal ahead of their normal schedule. ABC’s complaint describes the order as an existential threat and says it forced applications years before the licenses otherwise would have come up for renewal. NBC News reported that the filing window was 30 days, while ABC said these applications generally take months to prepare.
Why did ABC sue the FCC over its broadcast licenses?
ABC and Disney allege that the FCC, led by Chairman Brendan Carr, is using the license process to punish speech the administration dislikes. Their complaint points to criticism of President Donald Trump on ABC programming, including Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show and The View, as context for the agency’s actions. That is the companies’ legal claim, not a conclusion a court has reached.
The FCC has offered a different account. Carr has said the renewal review concerns Disney’s diversity, equity and inclusion practices rather than speech. The agency said it has examined allegations of unlawful DEI discrimination by Disney for more than a year and that broadcasters have a legal duty to operate in the public interest, according to the Journal and PBS.
Disney’s suit says the FCC campaign is already affecting editorial decisions. The company cited its decision to livestream a July 16 Trump address on election security through ABC News Live, saying it weighed the risk of administration retaliation before doing so, the Journal reported.
What does this have to do with The View?
It is a related dispute, but it is not the same proceeding as the early license review. The FCC separately opened an inquiry into whether The View still qualifies as a bona fide news program exempt from equal-time rules. The FCC granted the show that exemption in 2002, according to the Journal.
Equal-time rules apply to broadcast television and radio. When a nonexempt program gives an electoral candidate airtime, it generally must offer comparable opportunity to that candidate’s opponents. Losing the exemption could make candidate bookings harder for the show and other broadcast programs, since networks could face equal-time obligations for rival candidates.
License reviews and revocations are uncommon. The Journal reported that the FCC last revoked a broadcast license over programming in 1969, involving a Mississippi station that defended segregation, and revoked RKO licenses in 1980 over business misconduct and lack of candor. No ABC license has been revoked, and the court has not ruled on Disney’s request.
This story draws on original reporting from The Wall Street Journal.
