WASHINGTON—The National Association of Broadcasters has joined a chorus of voices criticizing the Federal Communications Commission's decision to force The Walt Disney Co.’s ABC-owned TV stations to quickly apply by May 28 for an early renewal of their TV station licenses.
The “FCC’s broadcast license renewal process must be grounded in predictability, fairness and transparency, principles reflected in the license terms Congress established and later extended,“ NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt said in a statement. “The Media Bureau’s nearly unprecedented request for one company to quickly reapply for all of its licenses—rather than utilize its traditional enforcement process—runs contrary to these principles and creates significant uncertainty for all broadcasters.”
“Broadcast stations already face intense challenges as they work to deliver trusted journalism, lifesaving emergency services, community programming and election coverage,” LeGeyt said. “The FCC must be careful to avoid actions that create further instability for the local stations viewers and listeners depend on."
The NAB statement did not address the reasons for the FCC’s decision, which remain somewhat opaque. In an order requiring ABC to apply for license renewals by May 28, the FCC cited its ongoing investigation into DEI practices at the Walt Disney Company as the reason for the move.
Denying licenses on the basis of racial discrimination is rare and has not occurred since the Civil Rights period, when the FCC revoked the license of WLBT-TV in Jackson, Mississippi.
The early renewal order for the ABC O&Os also followed months of criticism of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” by President Donald Trump and FCC Chair Brendan Carr, both of whom have threatened Disney’s broadcast TV licenses.
The ABC and the stations also face a complaint from the NRB, which filed a April 28 complaint about a Kimmel monologue given two days before a gunman attempted to attack Trump and other officials at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
