FCC to Review Disney ABC Broadcast Licenses After Jimmy Kimmel Joke
Brendan Carr.
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The Federal Communications Commission has launched an early review of Disney‘s broadcast TV licenses, in a move that has little modern precedent.
The move is sure to be seen as retaliatory after President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump called for late night host Jimmy Kimmel to be fired yesterday, though the FCC did not cite Kimmel in its brief letter calling for the early renewal, which was viewed by The Hollywood Reporter.
The FCC, led by Chairman Brendan Carr, has two open investigations into Disney and ABC, one into the company’s diversity, equity and inclusion practices, which it opened last year, and another into The View over an appearance by Texas Senate hopeful James Talarico over its equal opportunity rule. The new move appears tied to the DEI investigation, though details remain vague for now. The FCC cites the commission’s public interest standard in calling for the review.
“The FCC has been investigating The Walt Disney Company, its American Broadcasting Company, and its subsidiaries (collectively, “Disney’s ABC”) for compliance with its obligations as a licensed broadcaster. Specifically, the FCC has been investigating Disney’s ABC stations for possible violations of the Communications Act of 1934 and the FCC’s rules, including the agency’s prohibition on unlawful discrimination,” the letter states.
The FCC letter adds that Disney must file its license renewals for its TV stations by May 28, 2026.
“We have received the Federal Communications Commission’s order initiating an accelerated review of the licenses held by ABC’s owned television stations,” a Disney spokesperson tells THR. “ABC and its stations have a long record of operating in full compliance with FCC rules and serving their local communities with trusted news, emergency information, and public‑interest programming. We are confident that record demonstrates our continued qualifications as licensees under the Communications Act and the First Amendment and are prepared to show that through the appropriate legal channels. Our focus remains, as always, on serving viewers in the local communities where our stations operate.”
The FCC’s move was first reported by Semafor.
It is important to note that the FCC only has oversight of the broadcast licenses that Disney holds. The company owns eight local TV stations, including WBAC in New York and KABC in Los Angeles. The licenses were not due for renewal until 2028.
“This is unprecedented, unlawful, and going nowhere,” Democratic FCC commissioner Anna Gomez said in a statement. “It is a political stunt and it won’t stick. Companies should challenge it head-on. The First Amendment is on their side.”
Coincidentally, the FCC opened an early license review Monday against Bridge News, LLC, citing the public interest standard.
Carr has repeatedly said over the past few months that an early review of broadcast licenses is an option for the FCC, and that he expected there to be legal action between the FCC and at least one network before President trump’s term ends.
Any effort to revoke those licenses would be time-consuming and take place in court, where Disney could cite First Amendment protections, as Gomez alluded to. Even if the FCC was successful, the move would not remove ABC from the airwaves.
In an interview with Katie Miller set to be released Tuesday, Carr again raises the issue when discussing the FCC’s investigation into Disney’s DEI practices.
“There’s lots of options. You have a license. The licenses come to you every so often. You can accelerate when a license comes to you and say, hey, we have significant concerns with the value of conducting your operations. We want to review your license now and decide if you’re in the public interest,” Carr said in a clip released early by Miller. “If we find that a broadcaster hasn’t been doing that, then the statute requires us to issue a hearing designation order.”
Reaction to the move was swift, with free speech group FIRE saying that “the FCC may claim these actions are based on DEI policies and have nothing to do with Jimmy Kimmel, but its timing makes it clear these justifications are a fig leaf. This campaign against a disfavored broadcaster violates the First Amendment, pure and simple.
“The First Amendment requires those in government to be strong enough to take a joke—including ones that President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump consider to be in bad taste,̶