FCC Chairman Brendan Carr Targets ABC Equal Time Exemptions and Licenses

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has taken enforcement actions against ABC on two fronts this year, Reason reported. One centers on the equal time rule for the network's daytime program The View. The other involves early renewal requests for eight ABC affiliate licenses owned by parent company Disney.

In January, Carr stated on X that legacy networks had assumed late-night and daytime talk shows qualified as bona fide news programs even when motivated by partisan purposes. The FCC issued a directive that month stating it would evaluate exemptions based on whether content decisions reflect newsworthiness rather than partisan purposes.

The directive added that the FCC had not been presented with evidence that the interview portions of any current late-night or daytime talk shows would qualify.

ABC began airing national commercials that state The View has covered issues for nearly 30 years and that the FCC now wants to control who appears on the show. A separate commercial on New York station WABC says the station has served the community for more than 75 years and that the FCC is questioning its commitment. Both ads direct viewers to contact the FCC.

In April, the FCC announced an investigation into Disney for unlawful discrimination and called in the eight ABC licenses for early renewal, even though none were scheduled to expire until at least 2028. The announcement came days after ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel made a joke about President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump.

National Association of Broadcasters President Curtis LeGeyt said the license renewal process must be grounded in predictability, fairness and transparency.