ABC, Disney and eight stations filed suit and are seeking to stop FCC pressure over licenses and The View.
Why it matters: The case could test how far the FCC can push on broadcast licensing before crossing into unconstitutional pressure. It also puts a major media company in direct conflict with regulators over editorial independence.
- ABC, Disney and eight ABC-owned stations filed suit in federal court on Aug. 18, 2026.
- The FCC ordered early renewal filings for the eight stations even though their licenses were not otherwise due until 2028 at the earliest.
- The agency is also examining whether The View qualifies for the bona fide news interview program exemption from equal-opportunities rules.
- FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez called the agency's actions a campaign of censorship and control against Disney's ABC stations.
ABC's complaint says the FCC is using broadcast regulation to retaliate for protected speech and programming decisions. The network argues that the government is improperly inserting itself into editorial judgments and punishing coverage it dislikes, including around The View and other on-air decisions.
The dispute stems from an April 28, 2026 FCC order directing Disney's ABC to file early license renewals for eight owned-and-operated stations. Those renewals were not otherwise due until 2028 at the earliest, according to the FCC document. The agency framed that move as part of an investigation into Disney's ABC and its licensed broadcasters. Read the order here.
The FCC also issued a May 22, 2026 public notice asking whether The View qualifies as a bona fide news interview program under the political equal-time exemption. That matters because the exemption can affect whether a program must provide airtime to political candidates. ABC says the government should not be deciding that question in a way that pressures editorial choices. The notice is here.
In its filing, ABC says "the Administration has attacked ABC's speech" and argues that "The First Amendment does not permit the government to sit in an editor's chair." Commissioner Anna Gomez publicly criticized the FCC's approach, saying, "For months, the FCC has waged a campaign of censorship and control against Disney's ABC stations."
By the numbers
- 8 - ABC-owned stations named in the suit and targeted by the FCC's early renewal order
- 2028 - earliest year the stations' licenses were otherwise due for renewal
- 2 - FCC documents cited in the dispute: the April 28 order and the May 22 public notice
Yes, but: The available material does not include the lawsuit's court name, docket number or the full scope of remedies ABC and Disney are seeking.