ABC sues FCC over challenge to its broadcast licenses, saying actions
present 'existential threat'
[August 19, 2026]
By JOCELYN NOVECK
Further escalating its battle with the Trump administration, ABC on
Tuesday took the rare step of suing the Federal Communications
Commission on First Amendment grounds, saying the agency's demand for
early review of its broadcast licenses posed an “existential threat” to
the network.
In the lawsuit, ABC, its parent company Disney and the eight ABC-owned
stations whose licenses are affected asked a federal court to stop the
early renewal proceedings.
The FCC under Chairman Brendan Carr, an ally of President Donald Trump,
had ordered the early review in April — itself a rare move — of all
eight licenses owned by ABC, years before they are set to expire.
Licenses are issued for eight-year periods. The FCC cited the network’s
diversity and inclusion practices as a reason, but the development came
shortly after a joke by ABC’s late-night host Jimmy Kimmel — an
outspoken Trump critic — had infuriated the president, who has called
for Kimmel's firing.
“Again and again, the Administration has attacked ABC’s speech — the
stories its journalists report and the viewpoints its network programs
air,” the network alleged in its lawsuit Tuesday. “Over time, those
attacks have escalated into express demands that ABC be stripped of its
broadcast licenses because of its speech."
“Facing this existential threat,” it added, “Plaintiffs have no choice
but to seek redress from the judicial branch for the Administration’s
blatant retaliation for their First Amendment speech.”
It said ABC had “no alternative means to eliminate these ongoing and
immediate threats other than total capitulation to the Administration’s
demands." It asked the court to “immediately enjoin Defendants from
taking or threatening to take any action against Plaintiffs in relation
to the early license renewal applications.”
There are already clashes between ABC and the administration
The early license review is only one part of a long-simmering
confrontation between ABC and the FCC.
The network has also been fighting Carr’s efforts to make the morning
talk show “The View,” whose hosts and guests are often critical of
Trump, subject to equal-time rules. That's a question ABC says the
agency itself decided — in the network's favor — more than two decades
ago. ABC argues “The View” is a bona fide news program, meaning it’s
exempt from equal time rules, which require granting equal airtime to
competing candidates for office.
The ABC lawsuit Tuesday also spoke of broad ramifications that go well
beyond one network.
“The consequences of the Administration’s campaign against free speech
reach well beyond ABC,” it said. “If the Administration gets its way,
the message to every media company in the country will be unmistakable:
tell only the stories the Administration deems favorable, or face the
coercive machinery of the federal government. In such a world, the press
could in no way be described as free.”
It added: “The FCC Chairman has left little doubt that this is his
goal.”
The lawsuit also quoted Carr as saying, when Kimmel made comments that
angered the administration, “We can do this the easy way or the hard
way. These companies can find ways . . . to take action . . . on Kimmel,
or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
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|
 Carr, a longtime FCC commissioner,
was named chairman by Trump in November 2025. He has indeed made it
clear that he is considering revoking ABC's licenses, or trying to,
in what would surely be a drawn-out legal process.
Longtime free-speech attorney Floyd Abrams noted that tensions
between the press and the commission are not new — but have never
been this pronounced.
“There has long been a level of tension between the broadcast media,
which seeks full First Amendment protection, and the FCC,” Abrams
wrote in an email to The Associated Press. “But not until the Trump
Administration has the government so directly, so deliberately and
so dangerously sought to limit the freedom of the broadcast press to
cover and discuss the news.”
The lone Democrat on the FCC praises the lawsuit
The sole Democrat on the commission, Anna Gomez, commended ABC and
Disney for pushing back against the FCC’s actions.
“For months, the FCC has waged a campaign of censorship and control
against Disney’s ABC stations,” she said in a statement, “using the
threat of broadcast license revocations to punish a company for
speech this administration doesn’t like.”
“I have long called on companies to push back against this kind of
government intimidation, and I’m glad Disney has shown courage and
stepped up," she said. "This should be a welcome sign for every
broadcaster who has felt the weight of this overreaching government
pressure in silence.”
In late July, Carr defended his agency’s actions against ABC, saying
broadcasters have a duty to “operate in the public interest.” The
FCC, he said, was merely trying to restore that standard. Besides
investigating ABC, Carr has also opened separate investigations into
CBS News and NBC News.
Broadcasters like ABC, Carr said in an interview on the Fox Business
Network, “struck a deal with the American people. You broadcasters
get subsidized access, free access to a valuable public resource,
the airwaves, worth billions of dollars. In exchange, you have to
operate in the public interest.”
“Look, as a country, we should have a trusted, respected news media,
and we’re not there,” Carr said. “So I hope more broadcasters return
to their public interest obligations.”
On Tuesday, an FCC spokesperson reiterated that position.
“All broadcasters have a legal obligation to operate in the public
interest — even Disney," said a statement from the commission,
responding to the lawsuit.
"The FCC has been examining claims that Disney engaged in illegal
DEI discrimination for over a year. Disney is obviously very
concerned about the FCC’s proceeding, as evidenced by their ongoing
campaign of disinformation as well as their decision to ask a court
to stop the FCC from further pursuing matters. The FCC will continue
to follow the facts and law wherever they lead.”
___
Associated Press journalist Mike Catalini contributed to this
report.
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