On Tuesday, it was revealed that the FCC is looking to challenge the TV licenses held by Disney. Now the NAB is pushing back against the move.
Last week, ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel made a joke about First Lady Melania Trump. He said she had “the glow of an expectant widow.” Those remarks were amplified following the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday evening.
The commission has called for an early renewal of the eight licenses owned by Disney. That comes after the FCC has previously opened two investigations into Disney. One for its DEI practices that was opened last year. The other was for an appearance by James Talarico, which raised questions about whether The View broke equal time rules in its interview with the Texas Senate candidate.
The commission stated that Disney must file its license renewals for its owned-and-operated TV stations by May 28th, 2026. Those licenses were not up for renewal until 2028, at the earliest.
On Wednesday, the NAB released a statement sharing its concern with the development.
“The FCC’s broadcast license renewal process must be grounded in predictability, fairness, and transparency, principles reflected in the license terms Congress established and later extended,” the statement reads. “The Media Bureau’s nearly unprecedented request for one company to quickly reapply for all of its licenses – rather than utilize its traditional enforcement process – runs contrary to these principles and creates significant uncertainty for all broadcasters.
“Broadcast stations already face intense challenges as they work to deliver trusted journalism, lifesaving emergency services, community programming and election coverage. The FCC must be careful to avoid actions that create further instability for the local stations viewers, and listeners depend on.”
Currently, there are eight ABC-owned stations. They include:
- KABC-TV (Los Angeles)
- KFSN-TV (Fresno)
- KGO-TV (San Francisco)
- KTRK-TV (Houston)
- WABC-TV (New York)
- WLS-TV (Chicago)
- WPVI-TV (Philadelphia)
- WTVD-TV (Raleigh)
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