US regulator FCC orders ABC license review

Disney has been ordered by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to file licence renewals for eight of its ABC channels, in the wake of calls from US president Donald Trump to fire the broadcaster’s late night host Jimmy Kimmel.

The FCC, headed by Trump-appointed Brendan Carr, made the order on Tuesday in a rare move that followed comments last week from the talkshow host that referred to the president’s wife looking like an “expectant widow”.

Days later, a gunman stormed a press gala dinner attended by Trump and his wife Melania, prompting the US president to call for Kimmel to be fired.

Disney did not reply to the social media post, but did air his Monday night show.

The FCC order requires Disney-owned ABC to file early renewal licence applications for eight of it channels (but not its 200-plus affiliates across the country) within 30 days. ABC’s existing licence had been due to run until 2028.

Its review will, among other things, require the broadcaster to prove it meets public interest standards.

The FCC can grant the renewal or instigate a hearing, with the broadcaster able to appeal decisions up to the US Court of Appeals, a process that would likely take years. ABC would remain on air in the interim.

While a revocation of ABC’s licence is by no means imminent, the move by the regulator has been little used for decades, with the last licence repeal coming 40 years ago, according to Reuters.

The FCC has suggested its renewal order came amid an ongoing investigation into Disney’s diversity, equity and inclusion policies.

“The FCC determines that calling in Disney’s ABC licenses for early renewal, at this time, under the Communications Act’s public interest standard is essential within the meaning of agency regulations,” the regulator said.

“Therefore, Disney’s ABC is hereby directed to file license renewals for all of their licensed TV stations within 30 days – in other words, by May 28, 2026.”

Disney responded: “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.”

Kimmel had already responded to Trump’s remarks on his Monday show, referring to his comments as “a very light roast joke about the fact that he’s almost 80 and she’s younger than I am. It was not by any stretch of the definition a call to assassination,” he said.

Carr has previously highlighted on social media that the US Communications Act allows the FCC to order early renewal licenses.

The FCC chief was also a vocal critic of ABC in the wake of Kimmel’s comments following the shooting of Charlie Kirk, which saw the talkshow host’s programme suspended by Disney before returning a week later.

Anna Gomez, the sole Democrat on the FCC commission, labelled the order a “political stunt”, adding on X that it was “unprecedented, unlawful and going nowhere.”

“Companies should challenge it head-on,” she wrote, adding that “the First Amendment is on their side.”