Disney and ABC told a federal court Monday that the Federal Communications Commission used early reviews of ABC’s broadcast licenses to pressure the network over its programming. They argue regulators skipped enforcement options that would have faced judicial scrutiny.
The filing seizes on an admission by government attorneys at an Oct. 6 hearing that other enforcement tools existed. Disney’s lawyers say the agency chose a route that applied “maximal coercive pressure” while keeping the dispute away from a judge.
The FCC ordered the reviews April 28 for all eight ABC-owned stations, whose licenses were not due for renewal until 2028 through 2031. ABC filed under protest by the May 28 deadline, sued in August and now seeks a preliminary injunction to halt the process. One report says the agency had not called in licenses early in almost 60 years.
The government rejects the retaliation claim. Justice Department lawyers say the FCC acted because Disney failed to answer an anti-discrimination investigation into its diversity practices adequately. Attorney Dimitar Georgiev-Remme called early renewal the “best tool for the task before the agency,” noting that subpoenas and fines would have required Justice Department enforcement, while renewal brought public comment. The government also argues that the appeals court, not the district court, holds jurisdiction.
ABC counsel Beth Wilkinson countered that the process leaves the network with its “head on a guillotine.” Waiting for a ruling, she warned, chills the network’s speech. Judge Loren AliKhan pressed the government on remarks by FCC Chairman Brendan Carr in July, when he said ABC’s decision not to air a Trump primetime address would likely arise in the renewal. The FCC has said the review has no connection to Jimmy Kimmel or “The View.”
Mark Fowler, a Republican who chaired the FCC under Ronald Reagan, filed a statement backing ABC and called Carr’s actions unconstitutional censorship. AliKhan did not rule after a two-hour hearing and is not expected to decide before mid-October, once both sides submit more written arguments. The FCC had not responded to a request for comment on Monday’s filing.
