Overview
- ABC began airing national and local spots on Monday that urge fans to use QR codes to file FCC comments backing The View and eight ABC owned‑and‑operated stations.
- The ads give specific filing deadlines of July 6 for The View docket and July 29 for the station renewal dockets and direct viewers to the FCC’s public comment portal.
- The FCC has defended its moves as enforcement of long‑standing equal‑time and licensing rules and publicly called ABC’s campaign misleading while continuing both investigations.
- Disney/ABC filed the eight early renewal applications “under protest,” cited a 2002 FCC precedent treating The View as a bona fide news program, and says the call‑up is coercive and threatens editorial freedom.
- Thousands of comments have flowed into The View docket but only a few dozen on the station renewals and the dispute is likely to proceed to lengthy administrative hearings and court challenges that could reshape broadcaster obligations.