Overview
- Disney filed new petitions this week accusing the FCC of trying to regulate which guests appear on The View, calling the move unprecedented and a threat to free speech.
- The FCC ordered early renewal reviews for all eight ABC-owned stations and opened an inquiry into whether The View qualifies for a bona fide news exemption to the Equal-Time Rule, which otherwise requires matching airtime for candidates.
- New CEO Josh D’Amaro has pivoted to an assertive strategy by keeping ESPN rather than spinning it off to maintain leverage and by hiring conservative litigator Paul Clement for a long court fight.
- FCC Chair Brendan Carr denies the actions are retaliation over recent Trump-family complaints about on-air jokes, while lawmakers in both parties, including Republican Senator Ted Cruz, have warned the agency not to act as speech police.
- Disney faces a May 28 deadline for the accelerated license filings, a step that could affect viewers if approvals stall and that underscores how novel it is to apply equal-time rules to an opinion-driven daytime talk show.