politics
FCC Launches Investigation Into ABC's 'The View' Over Equal Airtime Rules
The Federal Communications Commission is examining whether the daytime talk show 'The View' violated long-standing equal airtime requirements for political candidates. ABC has responded by asserting a 2002 news exemption and warning that the inquiry threatens First Amendment rights ahead of the 2026 elections.
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The Federal Communications Commission has been investigating the ABC daytime talk show 'The View' for months over whether it violated federal rules requiring equal airtime for rival political candidates. The inquiry, which could influence a broader review of ABC's ownership of local television stations, has prompted a forceful response from the network.
ABC warned that the action risks a chilling effect on free speech protected by the First Amendment on the eve of the 2026 elections. The clash centers on an old-fashioned broadcast program that began 29 years ago. It draws 2.7 million viewers daily, a figure that has held steady for a decade according to Nielsen data.
The program's highest-rated markets include Philadelphia and the Flint-Saginaw-Bay City area in Michigan, both in swing states. It also performs strongly in Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Milwaukee, Chicago, New York, West Palm Beach, Kansas City and Hartford.
Two-thirds of its viewers are 65 or older, nearly 90 percent are over 50, 70 percent are women, 60 percent are white and a quarter are Black. Conservatives argue this demographic makes the show influential with swing voters, particularly women. A conservative legal group urged the FCC in March to deny the program an exemption from equal-airtime rules.
The group said hosts who criticize the president and his party have a real effect on politics.
He appeared with family members to promote his business and personal life in the years before entering politics. Relations soured after he launched his political career. He clashed with one of the hosts over his description of Mexicans as rapists in 2015 and stopped accepting invitations thereafter.
