ABC and Disney Sue the FCC Over the Early Review of Eight Broadcast Licenses, Calling It an 'Existential Threat'

ABC, parent company Disney and the eight local stations whose licenses are affected sued the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday on First Amendment grounds, asking a federal court to stop the early license renewal proceedings the agency ordered in April. Chairman Brendan Carr ordered that review years before the licenses expire, citing the network's diversity practices; it followed a joke by ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel that had angered President Trump. The complaint says attacks on ABC's reporting escalated into "express demands that ABC be stripped of its broadcast licenses because of its speech."

Broadcast licenses are a precondition for operating a station, so an accelerated renewal proceeding can function as leverage over programming without any license ever being revoked. ABC told the court it has "no alternative means to eliminate these ongoing and immediate threats other than total capitulation."

The suit asks the court to immediately enjoin the FCC from acting against the plaintiffs over the early renewal applications. Anna Gomez, the sole Democrat on the commission, praised the filing. The FCC did not immediately respond to a request for comment; Carr has said broadcasters "struck a deal with the American people" and must operate in the public interest.