A coordinated effort by prominent conservative organizations is pushing the Federal Communications Commission to deny license renewal requests from ABC's eight owned-and-operated television stations, alleging the network engages in political bias, racial discrimination, and inappropriate ties to the Chinese government.
The petitions arrive after FCC Chair Brendan Carr, a Trump appointee, accelerated ABC's license renewal timeline earlier this year following White House criticism of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel. The early renewal requirement is nearly without precedent and has drawn scrutiny from media observers as an unusual use of regulatory authority against a network that has been a frequent target of Trump's attacks.
The Center for American Rights filed the first petition to deny, claiming ABC's programming "show(s) a consistent and overt partisan bias" and that the stations fail to operate in the public interest. The group cited concerns about Kimmel's content and ABC's moderation of a 2024 presidential debate. In its filing, the organization wrote that ABC "ignores long-standing Commission precedents" and "engages in explicit racial and gender discrimination."
The Media Research Center, a conservative media watchdog, accused ABC of using public spectrum "to suppress news coverage of the most critical stories of our day" and engaging in "electioneering and relentless political bias." The group claimed ABC's stations in major markets like New York and Los Angeles have minimized coverage of political violence and spread misinformation.
The Article III Project, a legal organization founded by conservative activist Mike Davis, focused its challenge on Disney's employment and diversity hiring practices, arguing the company has violated federal equal employment opportunity law. William Chamberlain, the group's senior counsel, called for sweeping conditions on any renewal to eliminate what he characterized as discriminatory practices.
America First Legal, co-founded by longtime Trump adviser Stephen Miller, submitted a separate petition claiming ABC's stations lack the "character qualifications necessary to hold broadcast licenses."
The FCC's accelerated review process opened the door for these various grievances. The agency invited public comment after Carr indicated an investigation into ABC's diversity, equity and inclusion programs justified moving up the renewal timeline. However, federal rules allow petitioners to raise broader complaints about whether a network operates in the public interest, creating space for the conservative organizations to introduce allegations far beyond diversity issues.
The petition process is unfolding against an investigation into whether ABC's daytime talk show The View violated equal time rules for political candidates. The probe stems from an appearance by Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico, who is polling competitively against Republican incumbent Ken Paxton.
The FCC set a July 29 deadline for responses to the petitions to deny, with a final reply deadline of August 5. If the commission moves forward, the matter would likely proceed to an administrative law judge for what amounts to a full trial on the license renewal, complete with discovery, depositions and witness testimony. Alternatively, FCC commissioners could elect to hold hearings themselves.
Carr declined to specify a timeline for the entire review and appeals process during a June meeting, saying only that the commission would apply the Communications Act's provisions regardless of how long the process takes.
Author James Rodriguez: "The use of regulatory machinery to challenge broadcast licenses on grounds this broad signals a sharp escalation in how political friction gets weaponized in licensing disputes."
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