Disney has come out swinging in its defense of 6abc and seven other owned-and-operated ABC TV stations the Trump administration is threatening to take off the air.
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In a new filing Thursday, Disney claims President Donald Trump is using the Federal Communications Commission to go after the local station’s broadcast licenses in “retaliation” for comments made by ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel.
“There is no question why the Commission is singling out these eight stations: Each is owned by ABC, and the Administration has openly and repeatedly called for the revocation of ABC’s licenses, because it dislikes the content and viewpoints expressed on ABC network programs,” Disney wrote.
The FCC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In April, the FCC ordered an unprecedented early review of the broadcast license for 6abc and the seven other stations shortly after Trump called for Kimmel to be fired over a joke he made involving first lady Melania Trump. Disney called the early review “extraordinary” and an attempt at censorship.
“The retaliation against ABC is a signal to every media company in the country: accommodate the Administration’s view of what news coverage should look like or pay the price,” Disney wrote.
The FCC has said the review stems from , citing “the agency’s prohibition on unlawful discrimination.” The agency is conducting a similar investigation of Comcast, which owns NBC.
FCC chairman Brendan Carr also said the agency would include in its review the network’s decision not to air Trump’s primetime address on election security earlier this month, where the president repeated the baseless claim he won the 2020 election, despite losing to former President Joe Biden.
“I think that’s something that broadcasters should be carrying,” Carr said.
NBC also passed on carrying the speech live, while some local Fox affiliates picked up cable coverage from Fox News. CBS aired Trump’s address, but broadcast networks are not required to preempt their programming when the president addresses the nation.
Could the Trump administration really take 6abc off the air?
The short answer is yes, but experts say it would be a messy, complicated battle that could take years, a process likely extending beyond the end of Trump’s second term in office.
6abc’s current broadcast license, renewed in 2023, runs through 2030. The FCC’s next step would be a referral for an official hearing, which would take place as early as next month.
So far, the FCC hasn’t presented evidence 6abc or the other seven ABC stations owned by Disney have violated any public interest requirements.
“The FCC has spent the last 18 months searching for some pretext for revoking the Stations’ licenses,” Disney wrote. “The Commission has found none, because the Stations easily meet the standard for license renewal — which under the law means that the Commission cannot revoke their licenses or order a hearing on their renewal applications.”
The last time the FCC revoked a TV station’s broadcast license was 1987, when RKO General Inc. lost its licenses in Boston, New York, and Los Angeles because of business misconduct.
If the FCC does move to revoke all eight of ABC’s local broadcast licenses, the case would ultimately be decided by an administrative law judge, according to the FCC’s website. Even then, the decision would be subject to appeals by the full commission and federal courts.
6abc going dark would be ‘a significant loss to the Philadelphia region’
Last month, 6abc called on viewers to weigh in on the early review of its broadcast license and support the station. That public comment period ended Wednesday, with over 152,000 people weighing in on the FCC’s move.
Responders overwhelmingly supported the station, according to an analysis of public comments posted to the FCC’s website, with 6abc widely praised for its local news coverage.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R., Pa.), who represents Bucks County, called on the FCC to give 6abc “full and fair consideration” on its early license renewal, calling the station “an important part of our region’s public safety, cohesion, and civic life.”
Among the organizations weighing in was the Philadelphia Zoo, which called 6abc a “steady, trusted presence in this community for decades.”
“The loss of 6ABC would be a significant loss to the Philadelphia region and to organizations like ours that rely on the station’s local news, weather, and community coverage to reach the public,” Jo-Elle Mogerman, the Philadelphia Zoo’s president and CEO, wrote in a letter to the FCC.
The Philadelphia Police Foundation called 6abc an “indispensable partner” and “vital contributor” to the quality of live across the city, praising the station’s support of police officers, first responders, and Philly children.
“The loss of 6ABC broadcasting would deeply impact the Philadelphia region, removing a trusted journalistic voice and a critical pillar of support that local nonprofits and public safety organizations rely upon,” the organization wrote.
Local residents were also overwhelmingly against removing 6abc from the air. Faith Paffett-Lugassy cited 6abc’s coverage of weather events and emergency information, pointing to Action News live coverage during severe thunderstorms earlier this month that swept through the Delaware Valley.
“ABC stayed on the news channel the entire time until a tornado watch was finally canceled,” Paffett-Lugassy wrote. “ABC is my favorite channel to watch, please don’t take it off the air.”
Bucks County resident Donald O’Keefe isn’t a cable TV subscriber, and said he relies on 6abc’s broadcast signal for local news and weather updates. According to O’Keefe, taking the station off the air “would directly compromise the public safety and awareness of Lower Makefield Township” and deprive residents of “critical safety warnings.”
Others, like David DeGrace, looked beyond Action News to all the other programming on ABC that would be unavailable of the FCC followed through on their threat.
“Don’t take away my Jeopardy!” DeGrace wrote. “This is ridiculous.”