Local TV stations owned by ABC across the United States blasted the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday for launching an “unlawful, arbitrary and unconstitutional” early review of their broadcast licenses as a dispute between the network and the Trump-controlled agency intensifies.
“It is an extraordinary demonstration of power and coercion directed at disfavored editorial voices which sends a clear warning to every broadcaster in America,” WABC in New York wrote in an objection that accompanied paperwork filed to comply with the FCC’s demand for early applications to renew licenses.
ABC-owned stations in seven other markets filed similar objections. In a statement, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said “broadcast licensees have a unique obligation to operate in the public interest.”
The reviews are part of a mounting confrontation between the FCC and one of America’s most prominent broadcast networks. Under Carr, an ally of President Donald Trump, the agency has launched probes of ABC touching on everything from its diversity practices to the network’s moderation of a 2024 presidential debate to guests booked on “The View.” Trump has also repeatedly called for late-night host Jimmy Kimmel to be fired.
