One of the world’s most powerful brands is standing up to Trump.
Disney will go to bat for ABC in a new federal lawsuit that accuses the Trump administration of wielding its regulatory power to punish political enemies. In the lawsuit, filed Tuesday, Disney and ABC are asking the courts to intervene after the FCC ordered the network to file early to renew licenses for its eight local TV stations.
The FCC, which regulates television stations, made the request in April in spite of the fact that the stations’ licenses weren’t due to be renewed until late 2028. “The Commission has demanded a review of the Stations’ licenses extraordinarily early,” the new lawsuit states.
“…That timing underscores the Commission’s true purpose: coercing and retaliating against a network that refuses to bow to the Administration’s demands.” ABC and Disney are asking for the court to issue a temporary restraining order to freeze the renewal process.
The early renewal order came from FCC Chair Brendan Carr, who has already proven his willingness to pursue President Trump’s political battles through the federal regulatory agency. While the agency says that it is reviewing ABC’s broadcast license over concerns stemming from the company’s DEI practices.
The FCC’s review was announced shortly after President Trump called for ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel to be “immediately fired” following the late night host’s joke about Melania Trump having a “glow like an expectant widow.” The FCC is also investigating ABC’s long-running talk show “The View” over claims that the programming is in violation of rules that require giving all political candidates equal broadcast time. The lawsuit makes it clear that Disney and ABC believe that they could lose their broadcast license if the FCC decides to hold a hearing instead of approving the renewal request.
ABC suspended Kimmel last September after the host speculated that Charlie Kirk’s shooter was part of the MAGA movement and accused the president’s supporters of trying to “score political points” in the aftermath of his death. Later that month, Trump told reporters that TV networks were “97% negative” about him and threatened to revoke the licenses that make it possible for them to broadcast.
“They give me only bad publicity [and] press,” Trump said. “I mean, they’re getting a licence. I would think maybe their licence should be taken away.”
Drama and mergers in a new broadcast era
Last month, a bipartisan group of former FCC officials warned that the FCC’s “unprecedented” early renewal request was designed to have a chilling effect on broadcasters. “This early license renewal proceeding is… a grave violation of both the Communications Act and the Constitution,” the group wrote. “Through this proceeding, the FCC seeks to censor Disney’s and ABC’s speech and send a chilling message to all broadcasters: carry speech we don’t like at your peril.”
Conservative groups have filed petitions calling on the FCC to pull ABC’s license, accusing the network of “a consistent and overt partisan bias.” Meanwhile, federal antitrust enforcers including the FCC paved the way for the successful mega-merger between Warner Bros. and Paramount Skydance, a deal that has already remade CBS News to the liking of the company’s new owner, David Ellison. Ellison is the son of billionaire Oracle cofounder and Trump donor Larry Ellison.
“Again and again, the Administration has attacked ABC’s speech—the stories its journalists report and the viewpoints its network programs air,” ABC and Disney state in the lawsuit. “Over time, those attacks have escalated into express demands that ABC be stripped of its broadcast licenses because of its speech.”