ABC Fires Back at FCC, Defends ‘The View’ On Free Speech Grounds

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ABC is going to bat for The View.

With the Federal Communications Commission, led by chairman Brendan Carr, targeting the daytime panel show as not being a “bona fide” news program and thus not exempt from FCC rules around equal opportunity, the network is firing back, citing the show’s long history of newsmaking interviews and FCC precedent to make its case in support of the program.

The Disney-owned broadcast network has filed new comments in the matter, telling the FCC that “these Reply Comments arise from an unusual posture.”

“ABC did not come to the Federal Communications Commission asking for anything,” the network continued. “The Commission compelled ABC to file the Petition for Declaratory Ruling at issue here, directing the network to explain why the government should not dictate which political candidates may appear on The View—even though the Commission itself resolved that very question in ABC’s favor more than two decades ago, ruling in 2002 that The View is a bona fide news program not subject to the equal opportunities requirement.”