Disney's ABC Sues the FCC, Alleging 'Retaliatory Campaign'

Disney is taking its fight with federal regulators to court, reports the Wall Street Journal, accusing them of trying to punish ABC for what it puts on the air. In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Washington, DC, ABC says the FCC, at the direction of the Trump administration, is improperly using its power over broadcast licenses and a separate review of The View to pressure the network over critical commentary on shows including Jimmy Kimmel Live! and the daytime panel program. "Again and again, the Administration has attacked ABC's speech," the suit claims, calling the moves a "retaliatory campaign" and asking for an emergency halt to the FCC's license renewal process for ABC's eight stations.

At the center of the clash: FCC chair Brendan Carr's decision last spring to launch an early look at ABC licenses—well before their eight-year terms expire—citing the company's diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, notes the New York Times. ABC executives believe the inquiry is really about politics. Tensions rose after President Trump publicly urged ABC to fire Kimmel following on-air jabs, and the FCC soon announced an early license review. Carr says the focus is DEI, not speech. ABC argues that letting the FCC proceed with an in-house license hearing means "an adverse outcome is all but guaranteed." The FCC, which rarely revokes licenses, is also reexamining whether The View still qualifies as a program exempt from equal-time rules for political candidates.