{"id":912,"date":"2026-05-28T20:39:05","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T20:39:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=912"},"modified":"2026-05-28T20:39:05","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T20:39:05","slug":"abc-submits-broadcast-renewal-applications-to-fcc-under-protest-says-agency-order-is-unlawful-arbitrary-and-unconstitutional","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=912","title":{"rendered":"ABC Submits Broadcast Renewal Applications to FCC \u2018Under Protest,\u2019 Says Agency Order Is \u2018Unlawful, Arbitrary and Unconstitutional\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n

\n\tDisney\u2019s ABC has submitted its license renewal applications to the FCC as ordered by the agency \u2014 but it is doing so \u201cunder protest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Euphoria,\u2019 \u2018The End\u2019 to Bookend Balinale\u2019s 19th Edition<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tThe FCC\u2019s Media Bureau last month issued an unprecedented order forcing ABC to reapply for spectrum licenses for its eight owned-and-operated stations on an accelerated schedule. The move came after President Trump called for Jimmy Kimmel to be fired over a joke the late-night host made about First Lady Melania Trump.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe FCC, led by Trump-appointed chairman Brendan Carr, officially says the early ABC license review is pursuant to the agency\u2019s investigation into Disney and ABC\u2019s potential violations of discrimination rules via the media conglomerate\u2019s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices. When Carr was asked at an April 30 press conference if the Kimmel joke would play a part in the FCC\u2019s review of the ABC licenses, responded that Disney is \u201cgoing to have to come in and demonstrate that they\u2019ve been operating in the public interest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tABC argues in its license-renewal application that the FCC order\u2019s \u201ctrue purpose and inescapable effect are to suppress speech \u2014 to ramp up toward possible license revocation and cause the Station and others to think twice before they say something the government might dislike.\u201d As such, ABC says, the order violates the First Amendment.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn its filing for New York\u2019s WABC-TV, the network said the FCC\u2019s order is \u201cunlawful, arbitrary and unconstitutional.\u201d The spectrum licenses for the eight ABC-owned stations were not due to come up for renewal until 2028 at the earliest, with some not due until 2031.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe Commission had not demanded early renewal in over five decades. And it has never before demanded simultaneous license renewal applications from a group of stations commonly owned with a network as it has here,\u201d ABC\u2019s application said.<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Rambo\u2019 Prequel Movie Sets 2027 Release Date<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tThe network continued, \u201cThe Order has no legitimate purpose. There is no information that the application will reveal that the Commission could not obtain through other means. The Order is inconsistent with a legitimate exercise of investigative authority and is plainly incompatible with the First Amendment. Worse, the Order opens the door to an assault on the Station\u2019s license, while the Commission searches for a legal pretext to achieve its desired goal. This effort to suppress speech under the guise of bureaucratic process must not prevail. WABC files this application without waiving any rights, and calls on the Commission to rescind the Order.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe FCC \u201chas elsewhere committed to identifying and eliminating obsolete or unnecessary regulations. Here, it does the opposite \u2014 excavating an arcane procedural relic, dormant for decades, to justify its actions,\u201d the WABC filing says. \u201cThe \u2018call-up\u2019 provision that it now invokes was designed for a regulatory world that no longer exists: an era of shorter license terms, comparative hearings weighing applicants\u2019 merits, and exhaustive renewal showings on program content. That world is gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tABC said the FCC\u2019s claim that it ordered the early license renewal review because it is investigating Disney\u2019s ABC stations for \u201cpossible violations\u201d of the agency\u2019s prohibition on unlawful discrimination \u201cdoes not survive scrutiny. The path for investigating any such potential violations is obviously through the investigation of that very subject which the Commission began in June 2025 and has been ongoing since then.\u201d In the DEI probe, according to the WABC filing, Disney has produced over 11,000 pages of responsive documents \u201con a mutually agreed schedule\u201d and that the FCC\u2019s Enforcement Bureau \u201chas never suggested its existing tools are insufficient for whatever it is investigating, and has elsewhere touted those same tools as providing \u2018broad statutory authority to investigate any question that may arise under any of the provisions of the Act.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tABC\u2019s eight owned local TV stations are: WABC-TV New York, KABC-TV Los Angeles, WLS-TV Chicago, WPVI-TV Philadelphia, KTRK-TV Houston, KGO-TV San Francisco, WTVD-TV Raleigh-Durham, N.C., and KFSN-TV Fresno, Calif.<\/p>\n

Read more M&M Releases \u2018Love Island\u2019-Themed Candy, Printed With Lines \u2018Bombshell Arrives,\u2019 \u2018Got a Text\u2019 and More<\/a><\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Disney’s ABC has submitted its license renewal applications to the FCC as ordered by the agency — but it is doing so “under protest.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":911,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[921,922,923],"class_list":["post-912","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tv","tag-abc","tag-brendan-carr","tag-fcc-2"],"yoast_head":"\nABC Submits Broadcast Renewal Applications to FCC \u2018Under Protest,\u2019 Says Agency Order Is \u2018Unlawful, Arbitrary and Unconstitutional\u2019 - Relocation Observer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=912\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ABC Submits Broadcast Renewal Applications to FCC \u2018Under Protest,\u2019 Says Agency Order Is \u2018Unlawful, Arbitrary and Unconstitutional\u2019 - Relocation Observer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Disney's ABC has submitted its license renewal applications to the FCC as ordered by the agency -- but it is doing so "under protest."\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=912\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Relocation Observer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-28T20:39:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=912#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=912\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e\"},\"headline\":\"ABC Submits Broadcast Renewal Applications to FCC \u2018Under Protest,\u2019 Says Agency Order Is \u2018Unlawful, Arbitrary and Unconstitutional\u2019\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-28T20:39:05+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=912\"},\"wordCount\":703,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=912#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/7d8171d38bef7a327b5cc8350a655f3b.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"ABC,\",\"Brendan Carr,\",\"FCC\"],\"articleSection\":[\"TV\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=912#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=912\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=912\",\"name\":\"ABC Submits Broadcast Renewal Applications to FCC \u2018Under Protest,\u2019 Says Agency Order Is \u2018Unlawful, Arbitrary and Unconstitutional\u2019 - Relocation Observer\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=912#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=912#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/7d8171d38bef7a327b5cc8350a655f3b.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-28T20:39:05+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=912#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=912\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=912#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/7d8171d38bef7a327b5cc8350a655f3b.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/7d8171d38bef7a327b5cc8350a655f3b.webp\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":563},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=912#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"ABC Submits Broadcast Renewal Applications to FCC \u2018Under Protest,\u2019 Says Agency Order Is \u2018Unlawful, Arbitrary and Unconstitutional\u2019\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Relocation Observer\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"ABC Submits Broadcast Renewal Applications to FCC \u2018Under Protest,\u2019 Says Agency Order Is \u2018Unlawful, Arbitrary and Unconstitutional\u2019 - Relocation Observer","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=912","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"ABC Submits Broadcast Renewal Applications to FCC \u2018Under Protest,\u2019 Says Agency Order Is \u2018Unlawful, Arbitrary and Unconstitutional\u2019 - Relocation Observer","og_description":"Disney's ABC has submitted its license renewal applications to the FCC as ordered by the agency -- but it is doing so \"under protest.\"","og_url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=912","og_site_name":"Relocation Observer","article_published_time":"2026-05-28T20:39:05+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=912#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=912"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e"},"headline":"ABC Submits Broadcast Renewal Applications to FCC \u2018Under Protest,\u2019 Says Agency Order Is \u2018Unlawful, Arbitrary and Unconstitutional\u2019","datePublished":"2026-05-28T20:39:05+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=912"},"wordCount":703,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=912#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/7d8171d38bef7a327b5cc8350a655f3b.webp","keywords":["ABC,","Brendan Carr,","FCC"],"articleSection":["TV"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=912#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=912","url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=912","name":"ABC Submits Broadcast Renewal Applications to FCC \u2018Under Protest,\u2019 Says Agency Order Is \u2018Unlawful, Arbitrary and Unconstitutional\u2019 - Relocation Observer","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=912#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=912#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/7d8171d38bef7a327b5cc8350a655f3b.webp","datePublished":"2026-05-28T20:39:05+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=912#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=912"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=912#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/7d8171d38bef7a327b5cc8350a655f3b.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/7d8171d38bef7a327b5cc8350a655f3b.webp","width":1000,"height":563},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=912#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"ABC Submits Broadcast Renewal Applications to FCC \u2018Under Protest,\u2019 Says Agency Order Is \u2018Unlawful, Arbitrary and Unconstitutional\u2019"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/","name":"Relocation Observer","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/relocationobserver.com"],"url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/912","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=912"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/912\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}