ABC Runs Appeals for Help in FCC Fight Over The View

ABC is turning its own airtime into a warning label about the federal agency that regulates it. Starting Monday, the network will run promos telling viewers the FCC under President Trump is cracking down on The View and forcing ABC-owned stations into an early license renewal process—moves the company frames as a threat to free speech. One spot opens with Barbara Walters describing the original concept of The View, Deadline reports, before a narrator says the FCC "wants to control who is allowed to appear on the show," urging viewers to scan a QR code and weigh in with the agency by July 6.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr launched an inquiry after the program hosted Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico; ABC's Houston station argued the show is a "bona fide" news program exempt from equal-time rules, a status the FCC affirmed in 2002. Separately, the FCC has opened public comment on renewing licenses early for eight major ABC stations, including ones in New York and Los Angeles, with promos asking viewers to speak up by July 29. ABC calls the early renewal push "an extraordinary demonstration of power and coercion" aimed at "disfavored editorial voices."

An FCC spokesperson called the ABC effort "a campaign of misinformation," per the Washington Post. Networks have run appeals to viewers during business disputes, such as negotiations with cable providers. But they don't often ask audiences for their support in going up against the FCC, which can rule on ownership of local TV stations, the New York Times points out.