U.S. — ABC filed a formal opposition with the Federal Communications Commission on July 29, 2026, urging the agency to dismiss early license renewal proceedings for eight of its owned-and-operated television stations.

The Federal Communications Commission ordered ABC to undergo an early license review for eight owned-and-operated stations in April 2026. The broadcast licenses for the eight stations were not scheduled for renewal until October 2028. FCC Chair Brendan Carr stated the early review was prompted by an investigation into whether ABC’s diversity policies amounted to unlawful discrimination. ABC stated in its filing that the FCC’s diversity investigation has found no violation of law.

ABC described the early license renewal proceedings as "extraordinary and unprecedented" in its filing. The eight stations subject to early license review are WABC-TV New York, KABC-TV Los Angeles, WLS-TV Chicago, WPVI-TV Philadelphia, KTRK-TV Houston, KGO-TV San Francisco, and WTVD-TV Raleigh-Durham.

In its filing, ABC stated: "Calling up the license of a single Station — let alone all eight at once — while the Commission’s DEI investigation has found no violation is unnecessary, premature, and punitive." ABC stated in its filing: "The FCC has spent the last 18 months searching for some pretext for revoking the Stations’ licenses." The network stated that denying a license renewal for disfavored speech would be "outright censorship." ABC stated in its filing: "From its earliest days, this administration has made clear its intent to punish ABC for its news coverage and to create a chilling effect on ABC and others." In its filing, ABC stated: "The retaliation against ABC is a signal to every media company in the country: accommodate the administration’s view of what news coverage should look like or pay the price." ABC stated in its filing that the FCC is seeking "a media industry too fearful of official reprisal to report the news freely." ABC stated in its filing: "That the agency reached first for the most extreme sanction in its arsenal, before making any finding at all, reveals its true objective: to chill not only ABC, but every broadcaster watching." ABC stated in its filing: "For the first time in history, the Federal Communications Commission has ordered an entire group of local television stations commonly owned with a broadcast network to undergo simultaneous license renewal proceedings well before their current licenses expire."

Disney submitted license-renewal applications for the eight ABC stations in May 2026 under protest. Disney and ABC stated in their filing that the petitions opposing license renewal come from interest groups with a mission to persuade the FCC to exert editorial control over programming. ABC stated in its filing that isolated factual inaccuracies on comedy shows like 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' or opinion commentaries on 'The View' cannot count as news distortion under FCC policy.

The Center for American Rights and the Media Research Center filed petitions with the FCC requesting that ABC’s station licenses not be renewed. The Center for American Rights alleged in its petition that ABC’s programs show consistent partisan bias and engage in explicit racial and gender discrimination. The Media Research Center alleged in its petition that ABC engaged in misinformation and efforts to improperly influence national elections.

Former FCC chairs and officials from both major parties submitted comments to the FCC describing the agency’s action as part of a broader pattern to punish speech disfavored by the Trump administration. FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez stated that a small number of partisan voices have tried to hijack the license process into a referendum on a network they dislike. Senator Ted Cruz criticized FCC Chair Brendan Carr over threats regarding Jimmy Kimmel’s comments, likening the chair to a "mafioso." The deadline for submitting comments opposing petitions to deny ABC’s license renewals was July 29, 2026.

The deadline for replies to the petitions is August 5, 2026. The FCC received more than 153,000 public comments regarding the ABC license review proceedings.

President Donald Trump stated in November 2025 that the FCC should revoke ABC’s licenses after a correspondent asked Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman a critical question. President Donald Trump called for ABC to fire late-night host Jimmy Kimmel in April 2026. President Donald Trump stated in July 2026 that broadcasters who did not air his speech on election integrity on their main channels should have their licenses revoked. President Donald he stated in his July 2026 speech: "Fraud like this should mean a revocation of their licences."