ABC Launches On-Air Campaign Warning Viewers Of FCC Actions And Urging Public Comment

ABC is taking to the airwaves to warn viewers of the FCC‘s crackdown on The View and the agency’s unusual demand that the network’s stations seek early renewal of their broadcast licenses.

The spots, which will start airing on Monday, are the latest pushback from The Walt Disney Co. and the network, which says that the actions of the FCC under its Trump-appointed chairman, Brendan Carr, are chilling free speech.

The spots also urge viewers to file comments with the FCC, as deadlines near for public input as part of the agency’s proceedings.

The spot for The View starts with images of the show’s founder, Barbara Walters, talking about the idea was for a program featuring “different women, different points of view.”

A narrator then says, “The View has welcomed your favorite guests and covered the issues you care about for nearly 30 years now. The FCC wants to control who is allowed to appear on the show. Viewers, use your voice.” The narrator then directs viewers to a QR code where they can comment on the FCC proceeding, with a deadline of July 6.

Carr launched an investigation into the show after it featured James Talarico, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas. The probe is of ABC’s owned station in Houston, which held that the show is exempt from equal time requirements because it is a “bonafide” news program. The equal time regulation requires broadcasters who feature political candidates to offer comparable time to rivals, if requested.

ABC, however, said that the FCC’s action was “unprecedented,” diverging from years in which talk shows in general have been treated as “bona fide” news programs, and therefore not on the hook to provide equal time. In an FCC filing, ABC pointed to a 2002 FCC ruling that confirmed that The View was exempt. The show is produced under the network’s news division.

So far, nearly 2,500 comments have been filed in the FCC’s View proceeding.

An FCC spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment on ABC’s spots.

In another proceeding, the FCC is taking public comment on the renewal of licenses to eight stations that the network owns: WABC-TV in New York, KABC-TV in Los Angeles, WLS-TV in Chicago, WPVI-TV in Philadelphia, KTRK-TV in Houston, KGO-TV in San Francisco, WTVD-TV in Raleigh-Durham, NC, and KFSN-TV in Fresno, CA.

In one of the ABC spots tailored for WABC, a narrator says, “New Yorkers, use your voice. No one supports your community like ABC 7. Sharing your stories, bringing us together, Channel 7 has proudly served you for more than 75 years. Every day, we commit to inform, entertain and serve you. Now the FCC is questioning our commitment to the community.” The spot directs viewers to a QR code for filing comments. “You have until July 29 to tell the FCC to keep your trusted local station on the air.”

ABC stations were set to start renewal of its licenses in 2028, but Carr ordered an early process, citing the investigation of Disney’s diversity, equity and inclusion policies. The order came after Trump called for the firing of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, who has directed a lot of his humor at the administration.

In a filing with the FCC, the network called the early renewal “an extraordinary demonstration of power and coercion directed at disfavored editorial voices which sends a clear warning to every broadcaster in America.”

The FCC proceeding asks whether the stations have been serving the public interest. So far, about 30 comments have been filed in the station renewal proceedings.