Walt Disney Co.โs ABC has filed renewal applications with the Federal Communications Commission โunder protestโ after an order mandating a years-early review of the networkโs eight television station licenses.
The criticism was part of the networkโs applications for the FCC review, which were filed ahead of a deadline Thursday. In an objection to the early renewal, Disneyโs New York station WABC called the FCC order โunlawful, arbitrary and unconstitutionalโ and said it was โlegally indefensible.โ
โThe Commission had not demanded early renewal in over five decades,โ the station wrote in its filing. โAnd it has never before demanded simultaneous license renewal applications from a group of stations commonly owned with a network as it has here. The order has no legitimate purpose.โ
The licenses for the eight ABC-owned TV stations, including KABC in Los Angeles, were originally scheduled for renewal between 2028 and 2031.
The FCC order came shortly after ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel made a joke about First Lady Melania Trump looking like an โexpectant widowโ days before a gunman tried to breach the White House Correspondentsโ Assn. gala last month that President Trump attended.
Trump has frequently threatened to have TV station licenses pulled when he is unhappy with their coverage, but the order is the first time the government has acted on his wishes, sparking anger from free speech advocates. The FCC has said the order is part of an investigation into whether Disneyโs diversity and inclusion policies violate federal law and the agencyโs rules against โunlawful discrimination.โ
In its response, WABC said the โonly plausible reasonโ to issue the order was to โpunish the station for speech the government does not like.โ
โThe ultimate injury here is not to the station or its parent company. It is to the public,โ WABC wrote. โWhen a broadcaster must weigh regulatory retaliation before making editorial decisions, the public loses access to journalism that is free from government influence.โ
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said in a statement Thursday that Disney filed its applications to renew its broadcast licenses only after the company was told its previous answers were โdisingenuous, deficient and improper.โ
โContrary to Disneyโs claim that the FCC called in their broadcast licenses for early renewal for no reason, the record shows something very different,โ Carr said. โBroadcast licensees have a unique obligation to operate in the public interest. The FCC will follow the facts and law wherever they may lead.โ
Times staff writer Meg James contributed to this report.