The Walt Disney Co. has intensified its battle with the Federal Communications Commission to keep its ABC television stations on the air.
In documents filed with the FCC and released Thursday, Disney accused the agency of waging a thinly veiled “intimidation” and “retribution” campaign in service to President Trump.
“The retaliation against ABC is a signal to every media company in the country: accommodate the Administration’s view of what news coverage should look like or pay the price,” Disney attorneys wrote in the 109-page filing.
The Burbank entertainment giant has enlisted prominent elected officials, community organizations and seasoned litigators for the 1st Amendment showdown that could ultimately reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
Disney’s combative stance comes after the FCC, led by Chairman Brendan Carr, took the rare step this spring of demanding that Disney defend the broadcast licenses of its eight ABC stations — including KABC-TV Channel 7 in Los Angeles — years before the permits were set to expire.
The government’s 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.
“The FCC has spent the last 18 months searching for some pretext for revoking the stations’ licenses,” Disney’s attorneys wrote in the filing.
“The Commission has found none, because the stations easily meet the standard for license renewal,” Disney said.
Disney cited the unusual nature of the proceedings, linking the FCC’s action to Trump’s dislike of certain ABC network programs. The FCC launched its review in late April — one day after the president lashed out at ABC after late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel made a joke about Trump’s health and First Lady Melania Trump.
Until this spring, the FCC had not called for an early license review in more than 50 years.
“For 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,” Disney wrote. The company asked the FCC to dismiss its review.
The agency is expected to make a determination on the ABC licenses next month.
The FCC, for its part, has said the review grew out of an inquiry it launched early last year to scrutinize Disney’s internal diversity, equity and inclusion programs to see if they violated federal anti-discrimination laws — part of an expansive Trump-led campaign against DEI initiated as soon as he returned to the White House.
This year, the FCC opened a separate inquiry over whether ABC’s “The View” should keep an exemption granted to news programs so they are not obligated to provide equal air time for opponents of various political candidates. The FCC, in 2002, gave “The View” the exemption.
By calling for the early license review, the FCC allowed petitioners and ordinary residents to chime in on the stations’ operations and ABC network programming.
By Wednesday night’s deadline, the FCC had received more than 152,000 public comments. An estimated 96% of respondents wrote to support their local ABC station, Disney said, including L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna, L.A. Police Chief Jim McDonnell and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.
In his letter, Luna said KABC — which has operated in Los Angeles for more than 75 years — provides residents with “timely and accurate information that has … undoubtedly saved lives.”
Democrat lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), Reps. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance), Laura Friedman (D-Glendale), Maxine Waters (D-LA) and Ro Khanna (D-Fremont) have called on the FCC to drop the probe, saying the FCC has politicized its regulatory powers.
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’s chief legal officer, Horacio Gutierrez, is leading the team.
Several conservative groups have questioned whether ABC was worthy to hold its licenses.
“ABC’s rights are important, but they are not preeminent,” Center for American Rights president Daniel Suhr, wrote in his 66-page petition to deny ABC’s local licenses, adding the commission must instead focus on “the right of viewers of ABC stations.”
Suhr took aim at ABC’s news coverage, writing, “ABC does not expose viewers to ‘information from diverse and antagonistic sources.’ … ABC engages in explicit racial and gender discrimination.”
The FCC doesn’t license networks, only the local stations that carry network programming.
In one public comment, an ABC critic named Lawrence Caswell agreed with Suhr’s contention: “ABC is just a grossly biased propaganda arm of the Democratic Party.”
Jeffrey C. Illes, a Chicago-area viewer who identified himself as a Republican, wrote in support of Disney’s WSL-TV station.
“I rely on their broadcast for accurate, timely, and trusted local news, breaking weather updates, and essential public safety information,” Illes wrote. “ABC 7 Chicago is a vital institution in our community.”
Stations typically file for a license renewal once every eight years. The commission then determines whether the station has “served the public interest” and has not run afoul of the “rules and regulations of the Commission.”
The commission’s lone Democrat, Anna M. Gomez, called the station license inquiry “naked political retribution and an unlawful assault on free speech.” There are three commissioners — Gomez and two Republicans: Carr and Olivia Trusty, who joined the panel last year.
Congress restricts the FCC from any regulatory moves that trample on free speech rights for broadcasters.
A coalition of progressive groups led by the American Civil Liberties Union urged Disney to step up its battle against the FCC.
“When you’re standing up for yourself, you are standing up for all of us,” the group wrote. “All of our rights are in danger when the FCC is allowed to censor comedians, journalists, and critics.”
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