Overview
- Disney and ABC filed a First Amendment lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Aug. 18, asking for a temporary restraining order to stop the FCC’s early renewal process for eight ABC‑owned stations.
- The FCC ordered the stations in April to file renewal applications years early and gave only 30 days to comply, a timing Disney says is unprecedented and unworkable.
- The agency says the review grew from probes into Disney’s diversity, equity and inclusion practices and an equal‑time inquiry involving The View, and Chairman Brendan Carr has defended using licensing tools to enforce broadcasters’ public‑interest obligations.
- Disney’s suit says the order is retaliatory, points to repeated public criticism by President Trump of ABC programming (including Jimmy Kimmel) and to other actions that it says have chilled editorial decisions.
- The case will move quickly through court briefings and could trigger administrative hearings and appeals that test how far the FCC may use licensing power without violating the First Amendment, and observers have filed public comments and FOIA requests as the dispute unfolds.