ABC has formally submitted license renewal applications for its eight local television stations at the request of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), but the network has accused the regulator of using the process to suppress free speech.
In a legal filing attached to the applications, the Walt Disney Company-owned broadcaster argued that the early renewal demand constitutes a “threat to the First Amendment.” The filing stated: “It is an extraordinary demonstration of power and coercion directed at disfavored editorial voices which sends a clear warning to every broadcaster in America.”
The FCC’s request came shortly after it received a complaint against late-night host Jimmy Kimmel over a joke about First Lady Melania Trump. Days after the sketch aired, a gunman attempted to storm the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has denied that the Kimmel incident influenced the decision, attributing it instead to an existing investigation into diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices at Disney.
ABC countered that the “true purpose and inescapable effect” of the FCC’s orders “are to suppress speech—to ramp up toward possible license revocation.” The network argued that the FCC’s actions are intended to cause broadcasters “to think twice before they say something the government might dislike.”
The FCC’s own website states it is “prohibited by law from engaging in censorship or infringing on First Amendment rights of the press.” However, Carr recently issued a public notice reminding broadcasters of their “public interest obligations,” including ensuring diverse viewpoints in local communities.
President Donald Trump has publicly called for ABC to fire Kimmel, accusing him of sharing violent rhetoric. In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: “When is ABC Fake News Network firing seriously unfunny Jimmy Kimmel… People are angry. It better be soon!!!”
