Disney sues the FCC, calling an early review of ABC's licenses retaliation for its coverage
Disney wants a federal judge to stop the review before it starts, and says the agency's pressure has already changed what ABC puts on the air.
Disney and ABC sued the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday, Aug. 18, to challenge an early review of ABC broadcast licenses. The companies accuse the Trump administration of using the review to censor journalists and say the FCC is violating their First Amendment rights.
What an early license review does to a broadcaster before anyone rules on anything:
Disney owns eight ABC stations outright, including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. More than 200 other ABC stations are licensed to separate companies such as Nexstar and Sinclair — the ones Disney cannot defend in this lawsuit.
A license sitting under review is hard to sell, borrow against, or fold into a merger, so the cost lands on station owners months or years before the FCC decides anything.
The FCC has never revoked a major network station's license over news content. The remedy nobody expects is the one that makes the threat work.
Disney offers the booking change as its proof of a chilling effect: the network says it hesitated over political guests while the review was pending, months before the FCC can rule on anything.