WASHINGTON—In the wake of ABC's efforts to combat an Federal Communications Commission probe into whether “The View” deserves a “news exemption” from equal political time rules, fan have been flooding the regulator with comments. The agency's website had 27,885 of them, mostly in support of the show, as of 6 p.m. ET June 23.

ABC reported that most of those came in following ABC’s public push to mobilize fans to defend the show. During the Monday June 22 episode of "The View" ABC began airing an ad calling for viewers to file comments with the FCC. The ad encourages viewers to scan a QR code which directs them to the FCC site where they can file comments.

The case stems from a wider policy by the agency to enforce public interest rules on broadcasters deemed to be airing biased news coverage. That has led to ongoing investigations by the FCC into coverage of President Trump by stations owned by ABC, CBS and NBC.

FCC Chair Brendan Carr has repeatedly defended the agency’s authority to sanction stations and possibly even yank their licences for violating public interest standards even though a number of former FCC commissioners and staffers have called the policy “unconstitutional.”

Separately, the Media Bureau issued an advisory in January casting doubt on the 20-year-old exemption classifying late-night programming and talk shows as news programs, which means that they are not subject to equal time rules. The advisory said that stations airing `partisan' talk shows and late night programs must comply with equal time rules.

In May, the FCC’s media bureau issued a public notice asking for comments on whether ABC’s “The View” is a “bona fide news interview program” exempt from its equal time rules.

The FCC is also investigating Disney’s ABC for its DEI practices and has also ordered the ABC- owned stations to file for early renewal of their licenses. ABC blasted the early renewal demand as “unconstitutional retaliation” for news coverage that has been critical of the Trump administration.

So far the public comments to the FCC’s inquiry into `The View’ indicated significant opposition to Chairman Carr’s policies across the ideological spectrum, including free speech advocates, civil rights groups, conservative groups, journalism organizations, and consumer advocates. Many warned that revisiting the FCC's longstanding precedent amounted to an attack on free speech, with implications far beyond a single TV show.

ACLU, Center for Democracy & Technology, Future of Free Speech, National Coalition Against Censorship argued that the Commission is abandoning 40 years of precedent and that “this proceeding violates the constitutional rights of all our nation’s broadcasters, as well as the public who relies upon them for their access to news and information.”

Likewise, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) noted that “no living former FCC Commissioner has endorsed Chairman Carr’s current view of his regulatory authority, while a bipartisan group of former Chairmen and Commissioners, along with other high-level staff, have condemned it.”

Free Press complained that the “Commission’s actions have poisoned the well, depriving KTRK of a fair enforcement process, and depriving ABC of fair administration of Section 315(a) as it pertains to The View. Carr’s agency’s actions have been capricious, selective, and corrupt. The Commission is targeting KTRK and ABC with punitive action for its lawful speech, in order to chill ABC’s and other broadcaster’s First Amendment-protected speech.”

The group also stressed that while “Carr claims that he’s simply looking out for the public’s interest, and not carrying out a politically motivated vendetta against ABC and the President’s enemies…this claim quickly falls apart when considering Carr’s explicit efforts here to exclude right-wing talk radio broadcast programs from his review of the equal opportunities rule.”

Facing a generation that’s cutting the cable cord but is glued to its iPhones, the ABC Owned Stations Group is creating a new brand designed to appeal to mobile millennials.

The new brand, dubbed 'Localish,' focuses on hyper-local stories produced by the stations with a national appeal, distributed on digital and social platforms.

Like other traditional media organizations, the ABC stations are looking to remain relevant to younger, digital native consumers.

“Localish is built around the idea of producing content for this mobile-first audience whose interests might be a bit different than what we produce day-to-day,” said Wendy McMahon, president of ABC Owned Stations.

“This is a new venture to create an environment where we can experiment with new kinds of storytelling and new kinds of distribution.”

In addition to being among the top-rated broadcasters in their markets, the eight ABC stations have a big digital presence and massive social footprints. That makes them well equipped to serve what it seems as a demand for local programming and information.

McMahon says that nearly 50% of all Google searches have local intent and there’s been a 900% increase in search inquiries using the words “near me.”

”We believe in the mission of the ABC Owned Television Stations, which is to inform and reflect and to serve our communities.” she said. “We have so many amazing people in each of our communities. These fantastic stories of either hope or things to do with your family and your friends on weekends, that’s every bit as important to our communities on a day to day basis as some of the harder news stories that we produce.”

The first series produced under the Localish brand is More in Common, a series about celebrating unexpected connections between people. The show has been appearing on Facebook Watch’s new news section and attracted more than 9 million video views and 95,000 followers.

With the official launch this week of Localish, three more series are being added:

• Secretly Awesome, which introduces viewers to spots locals love

• My Go-To, which features local influencers bringing viewers into their favorite hangouts

• Worth the Wait, which tells whether the the long lines at the hotspots are really worth it.

“We often say this brand is very much created by for and about millennials. The content is produced in a way that is digital, mobile and video first. There’s an addressable audience of about 63 million people. So there is a real need and intent for this type of content,” says Jennifer Mitchell, senior VP content development, ABC Owned Television Station Group.

ABC did some research and found that millennials feel better about their communities they live in than the world at large. “We are better positioned to serve this need given the deep connections that we have and have had for decades in our local communities,” Mitchell said.

Other shows due to launch in October are based on data that shows that certain categories are interesting to Localish’s target audience. They include Staycation, a travel series, Bite Sized, about food and Pumped, a fitness series.

The content can be found on the the ABC.com website, the network’s iOS and Android apps and its over-the-top platforms including Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV. It will also be on Facebook Watch, Twitter, YouTube Instagram and syndicated via Oath and Apple News.

“We’re also thinking about a strategic play around over the top, meaning we may be thinking about popping up an OTT channel,” McMahon said.

Localish is looking to have a dual revenue stream. Some distributors, including Facebook Watch are paying for content and negotiations are underway to get fees from other platforms. Localish will also have national and local advertising,with enhanced targeting available on the local front.

“We are in the branded content business,” McMahon added. “That’s an opportunity for a product that wants to be a part of this very advertiser-friendly brand.

The ABC Stations will be promoting the new Localish content in its newscasts and other programming. Promotion and content will also appear on the stations’ digital sites, social handles and apps.

“In addition to being the market leaders in their respective DMAs they’re also a tremendous megaphone,” McMahon said. “Because of the connection that we have with our communities, our audiences trust that when we invite them to participate and be a part of something, we tend to get support there.”

Localish will also be supported by other Disney properties, including ABC’s Good Morning America, World News Tonight, Nightline and the Disney Digital Network.

There will also be paid media supporting the launch, with much of that social platforms.

“We’re talking about holding events in some of our markets and inviting people and businesses that have been featured in some of the content to attend, along with some of the influencers we’re working with as part of these series,” Mitchell added.

LOS ANGELES—Skarpi Hedinsson has been promoted to the position of chief technology officer for Disney|ABC Television Group, reporting into John Frelinghuysen, executive vice president Digital Media, Strategy & Business Development.

In this role, Hedinsson is responsible for developing and implementing advanced technology strategies and solutions to power the group’s consumer- and business-facing products and services. This includes a focus on the use, optimization and replenishment of current technology solutions, as well as an expanded responsibility for forward-looking digital technologies. He will partner with Renu Thomas, the newly appointed executive vice president of Media Operations, Engineering and IT.

A spokesperson at Disney said that although Hedisson is being named CTO—a title formerly held by Vince Roberts— the promotions mark “a shift in the CTO role to more forward-looking digital technologies...” Hedinsoon will collaborate with Thomas, who is the “highest ranking technology executive at the company.” (See “Renu Thomas Steps Into Vince Roberts' Role at Disney.”)

“Skarpi and his team have been responsible for some of the most innovative digital media products, not just at our company but within the industry at large,” said Frelinghuysen said. “His forward thinking and technical expertise have helped position Disney|ABC Television Group as a leader in the ever-changing digital landscape.”

“I’m looking forward to the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead as we continue to grow our product offerings for viewers, as well as our distribution and advertising partners,” said Hedinsson.

Most recently, Mr. Hedinsson served as senior vice president, Technology & Platform, Digital Media, where he was responsible for managing technology and platform-product development for the Group’s network sites and innovative apps. His team deployed the groundbreaking WATCH ABC, WATCH Disney and WATCH ABC Family services making the Disney|ABC Television Group the first to provide authenticated viewers with access to both live, 24/7 linear broadcast network streams, as well as an extensive offering of advantaged window “on demand” episodes on desktop, mobile and connected TV devices. The services offer non-authenticated viewers access to recent popular episodes.

Prior to launching the WATCH services, Mr. Hedinsson and team designed and built the Emmy Award-winning Full Episode Player for ABC.com and the critically acclaimed ABC Player App for iOS devices, both industry defining when they launched for being first to make full episodes of ABC Network primetime, daytime, and late-night programing available to viewers on their respective platforms. The ABC Player app, now WATCH ABC, is one of the Top 20 most downloaded iPad apps of all time in the US.

Mr. Hedinsson joined The Walt Disney Company in 1998 working in Seattle, Washington for ESPN. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from the University of Washington, Seattle.

Over the course of his career, he has proven to be a tireless innovator. He is the inventor or co-inventor of seven US patents in the field of digital media and streaming video.