Disney’s ABC files early FCC broadcast licenses renewal
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) commissioner Brendan Carr during a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee oversight hearing on Wednesday, December 17, 2025 in Washington, DC, USA.
Kent Nishimura | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Disney It was withdrawn Thursday at the Federal Communications Commission as part of an early renewal of broadcast licenses for the company’s eight stations.
Disney said in applications was making the applications “under protest in response to an unlawful, arbitrary, and unconstitutional order” from the FCC.
In late April, the FCC said it was launching an early review of Disney-owned ABC stations years ahead of schedule following concerns about the company’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. The eight stations’ licenses were initially due to be renewed between 2028 and 2031.
Last year the FCC, the federal agency that regulates the media and telecommunications industry, launched an investigation into the DEI efforts of Disney and other media companies.
The agency said it began investigating Disney last March for possible violations of the Communications Act of 1934 and the FCC’s rules prohibiting unlawful discrimination.
In April, the FCC said it had decided further action was needed. Disney had until Thursday to submit the renewals.
The FCC’s initial review came shortly after ABC faced renewed political backlash from President Donald Trump following comments made by comedian Jimmy Kimmel during his late-night TV show airing on the broadcast network.
The timing raised eyebrows among critics of the Trump administration – and also by a sitting FCC commissioner – the person who said that the review was politically motivated.
In Thursday’s filing, Disney said it objected to the process and that the FCC has not called for early renewal in more than five decades.
“The order has no legitimate purpose,” Disney said in the application. “There is no information in the application that would suggest that the Commission could not have obtained it by other means. The decision is inconsistent with the legitimate exercise of investigative authority and is manifestly inconsistent with the First Amendment.”
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr defended the agency’s actions in a statement Thursday, saying they stemmed from an investigation the agency launched last year into Disney’s DEI practices. He said Disney “filed these applications to renew ABC broadcast licenses only after the FCC notified the company that their responses to the agency’s investigation were disingenuous, incomplete, and inappropriate.”
He added that the FCC “will follow the facts and the law wherever they occur.”
