Federal Communications Commission initiates early review of Disney station licenses

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Tuesday initiated a proceeding to conduct an accelerated review of the broadcast licenses of several local television stations owned by The Walt Disney Company, which is known to be the parent company of ABC media.

In a statement, Disney confirmed receipt of the FCC notice and defended its compliance record by arguing, "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."

In a document, the agency said it is reviewing Disney's diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies and has launched an initial process to reevaluate the licenses of several stations thatoperate in major markets across the country and are ABC affiliates in different cities, including Houston, New York and Los Angeles. The licenses in question were not due for renewal until between 2028 and 2031.

"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, While Disney’s ABC has purported to respond to two FCC Letters of Inquiry (LOIs) as part of this investigation, the FCC has determined that additional actions are appropriate at this time. Specifically, FCC rules provide that whenever the FCC regards an application for a renewal of a license as essential to the proper conduct of an investigation, the FCC has the authority to call the broadcaster’s licenses in for early renewal. Doing so both allows the FCC to conduct its ongoing investigation and enables the FCC to ensure that the broadcaster has been meeting its public interest obligations more broadly," FCC video chief David Brown wrote in a document.

The announcement by the FCC comes a day after the chairman Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump publicly called for the firing of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel for a controversial comment in which he publicly mocked the Republican leader's wife shortly after the assassination attempt on the president during the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner.