Posted in: ABC, Opinion, TV, TV | Tagged: ABC, disney, fcc, opinion

ABC Fighting Back Against FCC: New Promos Urge Viewers to Speak Out

Disney-owned ABC is pushing back on the FCC, releasing spots in defense of The View and its local stations, urging viewers to speak out.

Disney-owned ABC isn't backing down when it comes to taking the fight to Donald Trump's Federal Communications Commissioner, Brendan Carr. Previously, Carr's FCC ordered Disney to "file license renewals for all of their licensed TV stations within 30 days." What that meant was that instead of going through the renewal process in 2028 and 2031, Disney's 8 ABC stations (Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston, Raleigh-Durham, and Fresno) were required to have their paperwork in by May 28th, 2026. Though Carr claims the move is part of the FCC's investigation into the company's DEI practices, Disney sees it as retaliation for late-night host Jimmy Kimmel not being fired for a joke he made about the White House Correspondents' Dinner (WHCD) days before the event. In addition, the FCC has also targeted the popular daytime talk show The View, calling into question whether the talker should be classified as a legitimate news program. But as Disney sees it, it's just another example of the FCC looking to punish the company and network for not being in line with the Trump Administration – and now, the network it looking to its viewers for help.

As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, ABC is moving forward with promo spots set to run during The View on the network's local stations and on digital platforms, urging viewers to have their voices heard by the FCC. Beginning with a clip of veteran journalist and host Barbara Walters, the segment notes: "The View' has welcomed your favorite guests for nearly 30 years. Now the FCC wants to control who is allowed to appear on the show. Tell the FCC to let the viewers decide." But that's not all, because ABC also plans on running spots on their stations in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston, Raleigh-Durham, and Fresno, warning viewers that the FCC "is questioning our commitment to viewers by threatening to take us off the air" and urging them to speak out. "ABC7 has proudly served the New York area for more than 75 years. Now the FCC is questioning our commitment to viewers by threatening to take us off the air. Use your voice and tell the FCC that New York deserves to keep its trusted local station WABC," was an example of the spot for WABC-TV in New York.

At the end of May, ABC submitted the renewal applications for renewal, with the Disney-owned stations making it clear that they were doing it "under protest" and that they recognized Carr's actions for what they are: "an extraordinary demonstration of power and coercion directed at disfavored editorial voices" that is a threat to the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. "The Commission had not demanded early renewal in over five decades. And it has never before demanded simultaneous license renewal applications from a group of stations commonly owned with a network as it has here," states the filing from WABC New York. "The Order has no legitimate purpose."

The filing continued, "The timing of the Order makes the retaliatory purpose unmistakable. The Order suddenly emerged the day after public calls for punitive action in response to comments made during ABC Network programming." The stations argue that TV viewers are the real losers when the government looks to control a free press and freedom of speech. "The ultimate injury here is not to the Station or its parent company. It is to the public. When a broadcaster must weigh regulatory retaliation before making editorial decisions, the public loses access to journalism that is free from government influence," the filing reads. "The Order – both on its own terms and as a signal to other broadcasters – advances exactly that result. A press that edits itself to avoid government displeasure is not a free press. The Commission should not be the instrument of that outcome."

To that end, Disney's ABC stations also noted in their filings that Carr's move is an example of suppression, not regulation. "Simultaneously forcing every station in a media company's portfolio to file premature license renewal applications is not a regulatory tool. It is an extraordinary demonstration of power and coercion directed at disfavored editorial voices, which sends a clear warning to every broadcaster in America. This is a threat to the First Amendment that this Commission and this proceeding must not be permitted to normalize," the filing stated.

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