A coalition of prominent conservative organizations has filed petitions with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) seeking to deny license renewal requests for eight local television stations owned and operated by ABC. The groups accuse the network of political, racial, and sexual bias, as well as supporting the Chinese Communist Party.
The petitions come after FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, a Trump appointee, took the unusual step of requiring ABC to apply for license renewal several years early. Carr stated that the early renewal process stems from an investigation into ABC's diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. However, petitioners are allowed to raise any grievances regarding whether ABC operates in the public interest.
Key Petitioners and Their Allegations
The Center for American Rights, which has filed multiple complaints against major broadcast networks under Carr's leadership, argued that ABC's stations are not operated in the public interest due to consistent partisan bias. The group cited past complaints about late-night host Jimmy Kimmel and the network's moderation of a 2024 presidential debate.
“ABC ignores long-standing Commission precedents and principles protecting the integrity of the news,” the group wrote. “ABC engages in explicit racial and gender discrimination. ABC cozies up to the Communist Chinese Party and airbrushes over religious and ethnic cleansing. ABC fails to respect this Commission’s rules.”
The Media Research Center, a conservative media watchdog, filed a petition alleging that ABC-owned stations in markets such as New York City and Los Angeles have “used public spectrum to suppress news coverage of the most critical stories of our day; to engage in electioneering and relentless political bias; to excuse, minimize, and even justify the epidemic of political violence; and to peddle misinformation and defamation.”
Additional Complaints and Process
The Article III Project, led by conservative activist Mike Davis, focused on ABC parent company Disney's employment practices, claiming violations of federal equal employment opportunity laws. William Chamberlain, senior counsel, wrote: “The Commission should deny renewal of ABC’s television licenses. The record demonstrates consistent and serious violations of federal [Equal Employment Opportunity] law.”
America First Legal, co-founded by Trump aide Stephen Miller, claimed that ABC's stations lacked the character qualifications necessary to hold broadcast licenses.
The FCC accelerated ABC's license renewal timeline in April after the White House called for Kimmel's removal over a joke about Melania Trump. The FCC is also investigating whether the daytime talk show The View violated equal time provisions following an appearance by Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico.
The FCC set a 29 July deadline for opposition to the petitions. After a final 5 August deadline for replies, the matter may be referred to an administrative law judge for a full trial, or the FCC commissioners could hold hearings themselves.
During a 25 June FCC meeting, Carr told the Guardian that there is no clear timeline for the renewal review. “If it’s short, great. If it’s long, great,” he said. “But we got to apply the Communications Act and the provisions.”
