Disney and ABC have filed a sharp reply with the Federal Communications Commission, urging the agency to reject petitions that seek to deny licence renewals for ABC's eight owned-and-operated television stations across the United States.

The filing, submitted on July 29, 2026, calls the proceedings an unprecedented weaponisation of the broadcast licensing process. Disney and ABC state this is the first time in FCC history that an entire group of commonly owned local TV stations has been ordered to undergo simultaneous licence renewal proceedings before their current licences expire Variety.

The fight traces back to March 2025, when FCC Chairman Brendan Carr opened an investigation into Disney's diversity, equity and inclusion practices Reuters. In April 2026, the FCC's Media Bureau ordered ABC to reapply for spectrum licences for its eight stations on an accelerated schedule, citing the DEI probe as justification. That order came one day after President Donald Trump publicly called for late-night host Jimmy Kimmel to be fired over a joke about First Lady Melania Trump Variety.

Disney complied with the FCC's May 28, 2026 deadline, submitting renewal applications for the eight stations "under protest" and labelling the order "unlawful, arbitrary, and unconstitutional" Reuters. A group identified as CAR then filed a formal petition to deny the renewals, accusing the network of misconduct The Guardian. The FCC's Media Bureau released document DA-26-541 on May 29, 2026, addressing actions related to the station licences FCC.

The July 29 reply filing pushes back hard. Disney and ABC assert that "denying a licence renewal for disfavored speech would be outright censorship" and that the FCC "must deny the Petitions to Deny, or alternatively, dismiss these early renewal proceedings as untimely and unwarranted" Variety. The filing describes licence non-renewal as the "corporate death penalty" and argues the FCC has graduated remedies far short of that, even if a violation were substantiated.

The document also claims the FCC has spent 18 months searching for a pretext to revoke the stations' licences and found none. It states that Trump "has expressly demanded that the Commission revoke ABC's broadcast licences for speech he dislikes," and frames the retaliation as a broader warning: "The retaliation against ABC is a signal to every media company in the country: accommodate the Administration's view of what news coverage should look like or pay the price" Variety.

Carr has drawn criticism from both conservative commentators and Democrats for pressuring Disney and local broadcasters Reuters. Former FCC officials have warned the agency is sending a "chilling message" through the proceeding The Guardian. Free speech groups have formally backed Disney in the legal fight The Desk. In June 2026, ABC launched an on-air campaign urging viewers to support the network against the administration Reuters.

What makes this stand apart is the scale of the stakes. A broadcast licence is the legal permission a station needs to transmit over public airwaves. Losing it means going dark. For the crews, newsrooms and local communities tied to those eight stations, the filing's outcome could determine whether ABC keeps its over-the-air signal in major markets across the country.

The FCC has not yet ruled on the petitions to deny.