The Federal Communications Commission disney’s A letter from FCC Chairman Brendan Carr on Tuesday said the station was granted a license following concerns about the company’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.
The letter orders the company to apply for early renewal of ABC’s TV stations and notes that the action is related to an investigation into Disney’s DEI efforts that began last year.
ABC’s broadcast license was originally due to be renewed between 2028 and 2031.
Disney confirmed on Tuesday that it had received an FCC order to begin an expedited review of its license. Disney currently has 30 days, or May 28, to apply for renewal, the FCC said in the letter.
“ABC and its stations operate in full compliance with FCC rules and have a long track record of providing trusted news, emergency information and public interest programming to our communities,” Disney said in a statement. “We believe this record continues to demonstrate our status as a licensee under the Communications Act and the First Amendment, and we are prepared to demonstrate that through the appropriate legal channels. We remain focused, as always, on serving the audiences in the local communities in which our stations operate.”
The FCC’s move to require Disney to renew early comes as ABC faces fresh pushback from President Donald Trump this week after comedian Jimmy Kimmel made the remarks during the opening monologue of a late-night TV show airing on the ABC network.
After hosting “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” President Trump renewed his call for ABC to remove Kimmel from the broadcast. Days before the alleged assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Trump called First Lady Melania Trump a “pregnant widow” on his show last week.
But the FCC, the federal agency that regulates the media and telecommunications industries, began investigating Disney’s broadcast stations last March for possible violations of the Communications Act of 1934 and FCC rules against unlawful discrimination.
The FCC said Disney ABC had “intended to respond” to two inquiries since the investigation began. Still, the agency said it determined further action was “appropriate.”
The order lists eight stations eligible for early renewal, including three in California, as well as others in Illinois, New York, Texas, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, all of which are owned and operated by Disney. The call for early renewal does not affect Disney affiliates operated by station owners such as: Nexstar Media Group.
Disney isn’t the only media company under scrutiny for its DEI efforts.
The FCC, under Mr. Carr, who was appointed by President Trump, also launched an investigation last year. comcast, Owner of NBCUniversal paramountbefore merging with Skydance.
Following reports early Tuesday that the FCC intended to review ABC’s license early on Tuesday, FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez called the move “unprecedented, illegal, and going nowhere” in a post on X, adding, “This political stunt won’t last. Businesses should oppose it head on. The First Amendment is on our side.”
First Amendment experts began weighing in on the FCC’s latest move Tuesday, raising similar concerns about when “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” airs. The program was briefly taken off the air in September following the host’s comments following the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
At the time, Kerr suggested the station’s license could be revoked in response.
“The FCC does not have the authority to revoke a station’s license based on its political views, but this is not just about Disney and ABC’s rights,” Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, said in an emailed statement.
“President Trump is seeking to tighten control over what Americans see and hear on radio, television, and social media. If President Trump has his way, only government-aligned news organizations will remain that broadcast only government-approved news and commentary. It’s hard to imagine the consequences of further erosion of democracy or further attacks on the First Amendment,” Jaffer said.
