ABC Submits Broadcast Renewal Application to FCC 'Under Protest'

Key Points:

• Disney’s ABC has submitted license renewal applications for its eight local TV stations to the FCC “under protest” following an unprecedented FCC order mandating early renewal amid an investigation into Disney’s diversity practices.
• The FCC, led by Trump-appointed chairman Brendan Carr, claims the early review is due to potential violations of discrimination rules, but ABC alleges the move is retaliation for Jimmy Kimmel’s controversial joke about First Lady Melania Trump and a broader attempt to suppress free speech.
• ABC argues the FCC’s order violates the First Amendment by intimidating broadcasters into self-censorship and calls the order unlawful, arbitrary, and unconstitutional, noting that early license renewal demands are unprecedented in over five decades.
• The network highlights that the FCC’s investigation into diversity practices has been ongoing with cooperation from Disney, and the early renewal order serves no legitimate purpose beyond political retaliation.
• FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, a Democrat, has publicly supported Disney’s resistance, condemning the FCC’s actions as politically motivated and praising ABC for standing up against what she terms the weaponization of regulatory authority.