ABC and Disney Sue the FCC, Calling Broadcast License Reviews Retaliation for Programming the White House Dislikes
ABC and its parent company, the Walt Disney Co., filed a federal lawsuit against the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, in Washington, D.C., accusing the agency of waging a retaliatory campaign against the network for editorial decisions the Trump administration does not like. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan, who has scheduled a hearing for October and set a briefing schedule to follow in November. ABC is seeking a temporary restraining order to halt the FCC's early review of its broadcast station licenses while the case proceeds. Deadline
At the centre of the dispute is an unusual move the FCC made in late May, when it ordered ABC's eight owned stations to submit to early license renewals years ahead of schedule. Broadcast licenses normally come up for renewal on a regular cycle; pulling that review forward is rare. The FCC said the trigger was an ongoing investigation into ABC's diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices. ABC calls that investigation a "pretext" — a cover story, in plain terms — to punish Disney over its content, pointing to Donald Trump's public attacks on the network and comments from FCC chairman Brendan Carr. Deadline
The lawsuit carries a single cause of action: violation of the First Amendment and retaliation for protected expression. ABC argues that the FCC's actions amount to an "existential threat" to its broadcast licenses, forcing the network to choose between exercising independent editorial judgment or risking the loss of valuable licenses that let it reach viewers over the air. AP News
One specific programming decision sits in the complaint: ABC's choice to stream rather than broadcast one of the president's primetime speeches. The network says the FCC's early license renewal proceedings are punishment for that kind of editorial call and other programming the administration has disliked. Deadline
The daytime talk show The View is also caught in the regulatory net. A separate FCC investigation is examining whether the show must comply with the agency's equal time rule, which requires broadcasters who feature political candidates on air to offer comparable airtime to their rivals if asked. ABC says the cumulative pressure from the FCC's multiple actions has led The View to bypass political candidates as guests, or even in clips. Deadline
The case puts a spotlight on how much leverage a federal regulator can exert over what a broadcaster puts on screen. ABC's argument is straightforward: a government agency should not be able to hold a network's licenses hostage over coverage and programming choices that displease the sitting administration. The FCC's position is that its investigations are legitimate oversight. Judge AliKhan will hear the first arguments in October, with further briefs due the following month. Deadline
