FCC Targets Disney ABC Stations for Early License Review

The Federal Communications Commission is preparing to request early renewal reviews of Walt Disney Company's broadcast television licenses, according to sources familiar with the matter, in what represents an extraordinary escalation of pressure against ABC over its programming content. The FCC, led by Chairman Brendan Carr, is expected to file the request as early as Tuesday for ABC's eight owned-and-operated stations in major markets including New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, which are not normally scheduled for renewal until 2028. The action follows President Donald Trump's demand on social media that Jimmy Kimmel be fired immediately, blaming the late-night comedian for inspiring a shooting at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner on Saturday. The timing of the FCC's move appears connected to ongoing controversy surrounding Kimmel, who drew fire for calling First Lady Melania Trump "beautiful" and saying she had "the glow of an expectant widow" during a routine satirizing the gala that Trump attended for the first time. Kimmel defended his joke on Monday, explaining it was a "light roast joke about the fact that he's almost 80 and she's younger than I am," and denied it was a call to assassination. Carr had previously threatened ABC with action over a Kimmel monólogo about conservative commentator Charlie Kirk last year, telling the network "these companies can find ways to change their conduct and take measures against Kimmel or the FCC will have work to do." The agency has also sent an investigation letter to ABC regarding its daytime talk show "The View," probing whether the program violated equal time rules. The FCC is expected to justify the early renewal request as stemming from an investigation into Disney's diversity, equity, and inclusion practices rather than the Kimmel controversy directly. However, FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, the commission's lone Democrat, sharply criticized the move, stating it is "unprecedented, unlawful, and going nowhere" and calling it a political stunt that companies should challenge head-on. Disney has not commented on the potential FCC action but has supported Kimmel by maintaining his show on air. Legal experts anticipate that if the FCC proceeds, it would trigger extensive litigation raising First Amendment speech protections, with historical precedent suggesting such efforts rarely succeed. The last company to lose broadcast licenses was RKO General in 1987, a case involving corporate misconduct rather than editorial content.