ABC and Disney sue FCC over alleged retaliatory campaign regarding broadcast licenses
Federal lawsuit claims the regulator is punishing the broadcaster for its political coverage, including content from Jimmy Kimmel and The View.
ABC and its parent company Disney have filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Federal Communications Commission, alleging the regulator is engaged in a retaliatory campaign against the network. The legal action seeks to halt the FCC’s review and renewal proceedings for ABC’s broadcast licenses, claiming the agency is coercing the broadcaster to align with the Trump administration’s demands.
The suit, filed on Tuesday, accuses the FCC of punishing ABC for its speech by targeting its broadcast licences. The dispute centres on the network’s political coverage, specifically the programming of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel and the talk show The View. The Trump administration has been critical of the network’s output, with the lawsuit alleging that the administration has steadily increased pressure on the broadcaster over recent months.
Regulatory scrutiny of ABC intensified in February when the FCC opened an investigation into The View’s airtime of political candidates. This was followed by an order in April requiring ABC stations owned by Disney to file for an early licence renewal. ABC responded with a series of letters condemning the FCC’s decision, arguing that the regulatory pressure would chill free speech.
Tensions escalated further in July when ABC chose not to broadcast President Donald Trump’s speech on its linear channels, opting instead to stream it on ABC News Live. The lawsuit claims the latest attack on its broadcast licences underscores the commission’s true purpose: to coerce and retaliate against a network that refuses to bow to the administration’s demands.
In its filing, ABC warned that the consequences of the administration’s campaign against free speech extend well beyond its own operations. The company argued that if the administration succeeds, the message to every media company in the country would be unmistakable: tell only the stories the administration deems favourable, or face the coercive machinery of the federal government.
Bloomberg reported in July that the FCC could take action against ABC and Disney as early as that month. The network is now seeking a court order to stop the licence renewal proceedings entirely. The FCC did not immediately respond to The Verge’s request for comment.
