- ABC has been asked to apply for broadcast license renewal early
- The Disney-owned network says the FCC is applying undue pressure
- ABC shows, for example, Jimmy Kimmel live has criticized the White House
A war of words has broken out between the Disney-owned ABC network and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States after the FCC required the network to submit its broadcast license renewal applications early.
How early? Well, the licenses don’t expire until 2028, and four months early is the usual schedule. In this case, the FCC has requested them a full two years in advance, claiming that ABC’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies are under investigation.
ABC has now filed the necessary applications for eight of its local television stations, while the request is “a threat to the First Amendment” (as per deadline). In ABC’s view, bringing up the renewal process is a punishment for anti-government and anti-Trump statements expressed on shows such as Jimmy Kimmel live and The view.
You may recall Jimmy Kimmel was taken off the air last year due to comments made in the wake of the Charlie Kirk shooting, under pressure from the FCC, before being brought back. He has recently been critical of Donald and Melania Trump again, something the US president has noticed and commented on publicly.
‘Power and coercion’
Disney and its ABC stations are the latest victims of this administration’s campaign of censorship and control. I’m glad to see them expose the FCC’s actions as nothing more than naked political retaliation and an illegal attack on free speech and a free press. https://t.co/XYmTQ27pTx28 May 2026
“It is an extraordinary show of force and coercion directed at disadvantaged editorial voices that sends a clear warning to every broadcaster in America,” ABC said in a filing with the FCC as it filed its renewals “under protest.”
Now that the renewals have been submitted, it gives the FCC the right to publicly comment on them and designate them for a hearing if the regulator deems necessary. As the licenses cannot be approved earlier than 30 days before they expire, this means that ABC will be under greater scrutiny for the next two years.
“Disney and its ABC stations are the latest victims of this administration’s campaign of censorship and control,” said FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, the only Democrat on the FCC. “I am pleased to see them expose the FCC’s actions as nothing more than naked political retaliation and an illegal attack on free speech and a free press.”
However, the FCC has defended its actions. “The Commission will continue to analyze ownership structures to ensure that they are responsive to the needs of their communities and provide them with diverse viewpoints that reflect the informational needs of those communities,” the FCC said in a statement, denying that the move was a denial of free speech.
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