Carr faces new questions on ABC license review as Kennedy raises First Amendment concerns

The Federal Communications Commission’s review of ABC’s television station licenses remained unresolved and another hot topic during the August FCC meeting, with Chairman Brendan Carr facing repeated questions about the proceeding at his post-meeting press conference and Commissioner Anna Gomez calling it part of a broader “campaign of censorship and control” against Disney.

The dispute centers on whether “The View” qualifies as a bona fide news program, a designation with implications for how the FCC evaluates Disney’s broadcast license renewals.

Ariel Hickson of MS NOW asked Carr directly about Disney’s public accusation that the FCC was attempting censorship, pointing to the network’s objections over political content on its programming.

“The Supreme Court has already addressed this question of whether the FCC enforcement of the public interest standard and related statutory obligations that broadcasters have is consistent with the First Amendment,” Carr said. “The Supreme Court has said that enforcing these public interest standards is not censorship.”

Carr said Disney has argued to the agency that “The View” is a bona fide news program, a position he said draws strong reactions on multiple sides.

“We haven’t made a final decision, but our job is to enforce the Communications Act and the public interest standard,” Carr said.

Asked whether the case would proceed to a hearing before an administrative law judge, Carr said the FCC issued an early renewal decision, Disney filed its position defending its public interest record and other parties have since filed oppositions.

“I think either now or this week, there’ll be a reply period,” Carr said. “So the pleading cycle is still going. When that closes, we’ll take a look at the record and we’ll decide based on the evidence before us what the next step will be.”

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Kennedy’s First Amendment warning

The proceeding drew renewed scrutiny after Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told Adam Candeub during his FCC confirmation hearing that the agency was “getting into the foothills of violating the First Amendment.” Ted Johnson of Deadline asked Carr for his reaction.

Carr did not address Kennedy’s comment directly but laid out the agency’s underlying rationale for treating broadcasters differently than other media platforms.

“Broadcasters cut a deal with the American people,” Carr said. “You get to use this public resource for free, but in exchange there’s a part of the bargain in which you have to operate in the public interest.”

Carr suggested that broadcasters resistant to that framework could pursue a different arrangement.

“If they want to do that, then maybe we should look at ways they can do that, where they can pay the American people for their access to spectrum,” Carr said, “and maybe even pay the American people back if they haven’t been living up to the public interest standards for a while, backwards looking for their use of it.”

Johnson followed up, asking whether Carr could commit to resolving the ABC renewal proceeding on a defined timeline rather than leaving it open for an extended period, as Carr himself has criticized past FCC chairs for doing.

“No news to break on that,” Carr said. “Again, I think the pleading cycle is ongoing. We want to look at the record. We want to review it.”

Gomez noted public response

Gomez used her own press availability to argue that public comment volume on the docket should factor into the commission’s next steps. Ariel Hickson asked whether more than 150,000 comments were sufficient grounds for the FCC to reconsider its approach.

“We have actually about 230,000 comments between the view and the early renewal process,” Gomez said. “And these comments all say the same thing. We value our local news. We value the content that we’re watching. And we don’t think it is the FCC’s business to decide what is a proper editorial decision or what is actually journalism.”

Gomez linked the ABC proceeding to her dissent on the same day’s vote eliminating the national ownership cap, arguing both actions serve the same underlying goal.

“That is the real story behind this commission’s campaign of censorship and control against ABC and Disney,” Gomez said. “This was never about balance, because the FCC has no business balancing the ideological content of the news in the first place.”

She said opposition to the proceeding has not been limited to Democratic-aligned groups.

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“Conservative and free market groups have joined this fight too, warning that turning the license renewal process into a political weapon will not stay pointed in one direction,” Gomez said, “and that the next target could just as easily be a conservative or a religious broadcaster.”

Gomez cited Kennedy’s remark as evidence the concern extends into the Senate.

“When yet another Republican senator is issuing that kind of warning to this agency, it should give every member of this commission pause,” Gomez said.

The pleading cycle in the ABC renewal docket is ongoing. Both commissioners indicated the matter remains unresolved, with no timeline set for a final decision.