The Federal Communications Commission has demanded for months that ABC prove its stations deserve to stay on the air \u2014 a proceeding with no precedent in the last half-century. This week, the network delivered a sharp retort, accusing the agency of waging a campaign of political retribution.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe retaliation against ABC is a signal to every media company in the country: accommodate the Administration\u2019s view of what news coverage should look like or pay the price,\u201d Walt Disney Co.\u2019s attorneys wrote in the 109-page filing late Wednesday.<\/p>\n
ABC has enlisted prominent elected officials, community organizations and seasoned litigators for the 1st Amendment showdown<\/a> that could ultimately reach the U.S. Supreme Court. <\/p>\n The Burbank entertainment giant\u2019s combative stance comes after the FCC, led by Chairman Brendan Carr<\/a>, took the rare step this spring of demanding that Disney defend the broadcast licenses of its eight ABC stations \u2014 including KABC-TV Channel 7 in Los Angeles \u2014 years before the permits were set to expire. <\/p>\n The government\u2019s move represents a significant threat to Disney because the loss of licenses would hobble the ABC network by forcing its largest stations off the air. Other ABC stations at risk include those in San Francisco, Fresno, Houston, Philadelphia and New York. <\/p>\n The FCC is expected to make a determination next month. It could require ABC to defend the stations in a hearing or before the commission. <\/p>\n The FCC, in a statement, defended its inquiry and hinted that it may go further. <\/p>\n \u201cFor decades, Americans of all stripes have been subsidizing broadcast media to the tune of many billions of dollars by giving TV stations free use of a valuable, public resource \u2014 the airwaves,\u201d an FCC spokesperson said in a statement. <\/p>\n \u201cBroadcasters are required by law to operate in the public interest \u2014 not in the narrow or partisan interests of a political party,\u201d the spokesperson said. \u201cThe FCC is going to hold broadcasters accountable to the full extent of the law, regardless of any disinformation campaign that some of them may choose to run.\u201d<\/p>\n ABC accused the FCC of overreach. <\/p>\n \u201cThe FCC has spent the last 18 months searching for some pretext for revoking the stations\u2019 licenses,\u201d ABC wrote in the filing. \u201cThe Commission has found none, because the stations easily meet the standard for license renewal.\u201d <\/p>\n Disney\u2018s attorneys cited the unusual nature of the proceedings, linking the FCC\u2019s action to Trump\u2019s dislike<\/a> of certain ABC network programs. The FCC launched its review in late April \u2014 one day after the president lashed out at ABC<\/a> after late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel<\/a> made a joke about Trump\u2019s health and First Lady Melania Trump. <\/p>\n Until this spring, the FCC had not called for an early license review in more than 50 years. <\/p>\n \u201cFor the first time in history, the Federal Communications Commission has ordered an entire group of local television stations … to undergo simultaneous license renewal proceedings well before their current licenses expire,\u201d Disney\u2019s attorneys wrote. <\/p>\n The network asked the FCC to dismiss its review<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cThis is as clearcut an example of retaliation as one could imagine,\u201d ABC said in the filing. Damage has been done even if the FCC stops short of revoking the licenses, the network said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe mere investigation and the threat of finding a violation are sufficient: \u2018the value of a sword of Damocles is that it hangs \u2014 not that it drops,\u2019\u201d ABC wrote. <\/p>\n The FCC has previously said the review grew out of an inquiry it launched early last year<\/a> to scrutinize Disney\u2019s internal diversity, equity and inclusion programs to see if they violated federal anti-discrimination laws \u2014 part of an expansive Trump-led campaign against DEI initiated as soon as he returned to the White House. <\/p>\n This year, the FCC opened a separate inquiry over whether ABC\u2019s \u201cThe View\u201d should keep an exemption granted to news programs so they are not obligated to provide equal airtime for opponents of various political candidates. The FCC had given \u201cThe View\u201d the exemption in 2002. <\/p>\n Carr also has criticized ABC for not televising Trump\u2019s live prime-time speech<\/a> earlier this month to vent his grievances over past elections. Carr told reporters ABC\u2019s decision could factor into the station license review. <\/p>\n By calling for the early review, the FCC allowed petitioners and ordinary residents to chime in on the stations\u2019 operations and ABC network programming. <\/p>\n By Wednesday night\u2019s deadline, the FCC had received more than 153,000 public comments. An estimated 96% of respondents wrote to support their local ABC station, the company said, including L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna, L.A. Police Chief Jim McDonnell and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.<\/p>\n In his letter, Luna said KABC \u2014 which has operated in Los Angeles for more than 75 years \u2014 provides residents with \u201ctimely and accurate information that has … undoubtedly saved lives<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Lawmakers, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and Reps. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance), Laura Friedman (D-Glendale), Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) and Ro Khanna (D-Fremont), have called on the FCC to drop the review, saying the agency has politicized its regulatory powers. <\/p>\n Disney has hired prominent attorneys Beth Wilkinson, Jennifer Tatel and Paul Clement, a former U.S. solicitor general with experience arguing before the Supreme Court. Disney\u2019s chief legal officer, Horacio Gutierrez, is leading the team. <\/p>\n Several conservative groups have questioned whether ABC was fit to hold its licenses.<\/p>\n \u201cABC\u2019s rights are important, but they are not preeminent,\u201d Center for American Rights President Daniel Suhr wrote in his 66-page petition to the FCC to deny ABC\u2019s local licenses, adding that the commission must instead focus on \u201cthe right of viewers of ABC stations.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDisney\u2019s lawyers can wish upon a star, but they cannot make this record disappear,\u201d Suhr said in a statement Thursday. \u201cDisney does not own the public airwaves, and an FCC license is not a corporate entitlement. The FCC should reject Disney\u2019s effort to avoid meaningful scrutiny, require full answers, and designate these applications for a hearing.\u201d<\/p>\n The FCC doesn\u2019t license networks, only the local stations that carry network programming.<\/p>\n In one public comment<\/a>, an ABC critic named Lawrence Caswell agreed with Suhr\u2019s contention: \u201cABC is just a grossly biased propaganda arm of the Democratic Party.\u201d<\/p>\n Jeffrey C. Illes, a Chicago-area viewer who identified himself as a Republican, wrote in support of Disney\u2019s WLS-TV<\/a> station. <\/p>\n \u201cI rely on their broadcast for accurate, timely, and trusted local news, breaking weather updates, and essential public safety information,\u201d Illes wrote. \u201cABC 7 Chicago is a vital institution in our community.\u201d<\/p>\n Stations typically file for a license renewal once every eight years. The commission then determines whether the station has \u201cserved the public interest\u201d and has not run afoul of the \u201crules and regulations of the Commission.\u201d<\/p>\n