WASHINGTON, D.C. — ABC filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commission on May 7, 2026, asking the agency to rescind its demand that the network prove "The View" qualifies as a bona fide news program under the equal-time rule. The FCC had demanded that ABC demonstrate the program's status or risk being forced to give equal airtime to every political candidate who asks for it.

ABC said in its petition, "'The View' airs under an exemption to the equal-time rule granted to it more than twenty years ago, and it has never been disputed that 'The View' is a bona fide news show." The network said the 2002 ruling granting that exemption remains in full force and effect and that the Commission had taken no action over the last two decades to modify or overturn it.

The equal-time rule requires broadcast stations that interview one political candidate to give equal airtime to all other candidates for the same office. Congress added an exemption for bona fide news broadcasts and interviews to the rule decades ago.

At the end of March 2026, the FCC required ABC's Houston station, KTRK-TV, to file a new request with the agency asking whether "The View" remains a bona fide news interview program. The agency's action followed a February 2, 2026 appearance by James Talarico. ABC said the decision to include Talarico was driven by considerations of newsworthiness and audience interest and not an intent to advance his candidacy.

ABC said in its petition, "The Commission's order to file this Petition for Declaratory Ruling is unprecedented, beyond the Commission's authority, and counterproductive to the Commission's stated goal of encouraging free speech and open political discussion." The network also said the FCC has not made similar requests of other media outlets, such as Texas radio stations that air conservative-leaning shows like "The Mark Levin Show." ABC's petition alleges that the disparity in treatment raises concerns about viewpoint discrimination and retaliatory targeting.

ABC also said, "The Commission's actions threaten to upend decades of settled law and practice and chill critical protected speech, both with respect to 'The View' and more broadly." The network added, "Such dislike, however, cannot justify using regulatory processes to restrict those views."

ABC submitted its petition a week after the FCC announced an early review of the network's eight broadcast licenses, including stations in Los Angeles and New York. The FCC's Media Bureau issued an order forcing ABC to reapply for spectrum licenses on an accelerated schedule. In April 2026, the FCC ordered Walt Disney Co. to file early license renewal applications for its ABC television stations, citing an ongoing investigation, a day after President Donald Trump called on the company to fire comedian Jimmy Kimmel over a joke about First Lady Melania Trump.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said, "The FCC has an enforcement action underway on that." Carr also said that anybody can file petitions requesting the agency deny ABC's license renewals, which the FCC will review.