FCC Orders Review of Eight Disney TV Licenses

The ‌Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday bordered early reviews of eight Disney-owned ABC stations in an escalation of the Trump administration's fight with major media outlets, a source told Reuters.

The FCC said ⁠the reviews, which were not supposed to ‌begin until October 2028, were prompted ‌by a year-long ‌probe on the FCC's ban on unlawful discrimination. The ⁠FCC ordered ‌Disney ⁠to file its applications ⁠for ⁠renewals by May 28.

The ‌stations are located in Fresno, Los Angeles, Chicago, ‌San Francisco, New York, ‌Philadelphia, Houston and Durham, North Carolina.

The reviews -- which could lead to the FCC seeking to ‌revoke the stations licenses to operate on broadcast airwaves -- come in the wake of the White House call to fire ABC late night host Jimmy Kimmel but are not directly tied to ⁠that, the source added.

The FCC, an independent federal agency, issues eight-year licenses to individual broadcast stations, and has not revoked a broadcast TV station license ⁠in more than 40 years.

Kimmel remained on the air Monday despite criticism from President Donald Trump over a joke that he delivered prior to a shooting near a gathering of journalists ‌and politicians over the weekend.

Trump has repeatedly pressured the FCC to revoke the licenses of ‌Comcast-owned NBC and ABC stations over programming he has found objectionable.

Disney did not immediately comment Tuesday.

The licenses were ‌not scheduled for reviews by the FCC until starting in October 2028 and follow a more than year-long investigation into Disney and ABC's diversity practices.

Anna ⁠Gomez, a Democratic FCC commissioner, said ‌on Tuesday that the reviews ⁠are unlawful.

"This is unprecedented, unlawful, and going nowhere. This political stunt won't stick," Gomez said. "Companies should challenge ⁠it ⁠head-on. The First Amendment is on their side."

Reuters first reported in March Carr was considering early reviews ‌of the licenses. Asked last month if he could seek to revoke any broadcast licenses as a result of pending investigations, Carr said it was possible.

"All of that ‌stuff is on the table," said ‌Carr, a Republican appointed by Trump in 2025. He said he thought it would be a "good thing long-term to make sure people understand that there are, in fact, things you can do to lose your license and really help broadcasters reorient their operations to the public interest."