TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
The Federal Communications Commission long had conflicts with broadcasters, but its ongoing battle with Disney and ABC is something new.
That's according to several First Amendment experts, who described the FCC's order for the Disney-owned ABC to file license renewals ahead of schedule and the network's subsequent lawsuit accusing the agency of an unconstitutional "retaliatory campaign" as unprecedented steps that could affect American broadcasting for years to come.
The FCC's order said the agency was investigating "possible violations of the Communications Act of 1934 and the FCC's rules, including the agency's prohibition on unlawful discrimination."
Disney and ABC denied wrongdoing and accused the agency of using the allegation as a pretext for targeting speech President Donald Trump's administration doesn't like.
The FCC also has a probe into ABC related to the agency's equal time rules. In a July legal filing, the network accused the FCC of "chilling speech ahead of the fast-approaching 2026 general election."
Duke Law School professor Stuart Benjamin said "no previous administration" threatened broadcasters based on the viewpoints presented in their content to the same extent as Trump's.
The FCC and ABC didn't respond to requests for comment.
Little precedent
Though individual elements of the ongoing conflict, including the early license renewal order and First Amendment lawsuit against the FCC, cropped up before, experts said such actions historically were few and far between.
Among the examples is a lawsuit the Writers Guild of America, West filed against the agency in the 1970s over what the guild described as its pressure campaign to get networks to air only family-friendly content in the first hour of primetime. The court ruled in favor of the guild, finding in part that the FCC unconstitutionally threatened action against broadcasters who did not agree to such regulations.
"This lawless conduct cannot be tolerated if broadcasters are to enjoy meaningful First Amendment freedoms," the court's opinion said.
The "Family Viewing Hour" was abandoned shortly after.
As for early license renewal orders, William & Mary law professor Timothy Zick called them "historically abnormal."
Disney and ABC's lawsuit said that up until a day before the FCC's April 28 order, it took no such action in more than 50 years.
'Line in the sand'
The FCC in the early 1970s ordered an early license renewal to determine whether a broadcaster made misrepresentations to the agency when it said it would play rhythm and blues music but played country music instead. The FCC ultimately rejected the renewal application, and an appeals court affirmed the decision.
Such early renewal action wasn't taken again until April 27, when the FCC ordered Bridge News LLC, a broadcast company that acquired low-power television stations around the country in recent years, to submit early license renewal applications as part of an investigation into "possible violations of the FCC's prohibition on unauthorized transfers of control of the station licenses."
The order to ABC followed the next day.
While the network agreed to a $15 million settlement in a defamation lawsuit Trump brought in 2024, Zick said losing broadcast licenses would undoubtedly be more costly in the end. It was likely a "line in the sand" for ABC, he said, that made litigation necessary.
"It's a death penalty, essentially, for a broadcaster," Zick said.
Different responses
Experts contrasted federal regulators' actions between the first and second Trump administrations.
Robert Corn-Revere, chief counsel at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, referenced a "stark difference" in FCC leadership.
After Trump suggested broadcasters' licenses should be challenged over "fake news" in 2017, for example, then-FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said the agency "does not have the authority to revoke a license of a broadcast station based on the content of a particular newscast."
By contrast, current FCC Chair Brendan Carr responded to Trump's social media post criticizing news coverage of the U.S. war against Iran in March by saying broadcasters "running hoaxes and news distortions — also known as the fake news — have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up."
Disney and ABC's lawsuit also noted the timing of the FCC's early license renewal order, which came one day after Trump called for Jimmy Kimmel to be fired after saying first lady Melania Trump had a "glow like an expectant widow" ahead of the White House Correspondents' Dinner, which was disrupted by a shooting.
Though experts said Disney and ABC have a strong case, they added that the time, energy and costs associated with the legal fight could prompt broadcasters to be more cautious about their editorial decisions.
"The process is the punishment," Benjamin said.
