The FCC Targets Disney-Owned Local TV Affiliates Over DEI Complaints

On Tuesday, the FCC ordered an early review of Disney’s eight ABC station licenses:

By the Chief, Video Division, Media Bureau:

1. The FCC has been investigating The Walt Disney Company, its American Broadcasting Company, and its subsidiaries (collectively, “Disney’s ABC”) for compliance with its obligations as a licensed broadcaster. Specifically, the FCC has been investigating Disney’s ABC stations for possible violations of the Communications Act of 1934 and the FCC’s rules, including the agency’s prohibition on unlawful discrimination. While Disney’s ABC has purported to respond to two FCC Letters of Inquiry (LOIs) as part of this investigation, the FCC has determined that additional actions are appropriate at this time.

2. Specifically, FCC rules provide that whenever the FCC regards an application for a renewal of a license as essential to the proper conduct of an investigation, the FCC has the authority to call the broadcaster’s licenses in for early renewal. See 47 CFR § 73.3539.
Doing so both allows the FCC to conduct its ongoing investigation and enables the FCC to ensure that the broadcaster has been meeting its public interest obligations more broadly.

3. The FCC determines that calling in Disney’s ABC licenses for early renewal, at this time, under the Communications Act’s public interest standard 47 U.S.C. § 307.
is essential within the meaning of agency regulations. Therefore, Disney’s ABC is hereby directed to file license renewals for all of their licensed TV stations within 30 days–in other words, by May 28, 2026.

The FCC licenses ABC’s TV stations across the country to broadcast their programming over publicly owned airwaves. And it’s extremely unusual for the FCC to do a group of early reviews, especially when all of them are owned by the same media company:

The Disney licenses in question, for eight ABC owned-and-operated stations in cities like NYC and Chicago, aren’t due to be renewed for years. The early renewal order would trigger a lengthy hearing process, with many opportunities for stations to beat back the Trump administration’s pressure. But stations have to be willing to defend themselves, which costs money and time.

Carr must know that if he sends Disney these early-renewal papers, it will be viewed as retaliation for airing Kimmel’s show and resisting Trump’s pressure. But my source familiar with the matter said the FCC will assert that the license review stems from an ongoing FCC probe into Disney’s DEI practices.

FCC Head Carr Threatened ABC In March Over DEI Issues

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr had signaled this review of Disney’s licenses might be on the way when he announced on March 28th that he had asked the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau to open an investigation into Disney & ABC:

In recent years, Disney made DEI a key priority for the company’s businesses and embedded explicit race- and gender-based criteria across its operations. Indeed, public reports—including ones based on whistleblower documents—paint a disturbing picture of Disney’s DEI practices.

In at least one account, a Disney employee described the company’s decision to launch what would amount to racially-segregated affinity groups and spaces. The company also publicly launched a “Reimagine Tomorrow” initiative, it would appear, as a mechanism for advancing its DEI mission. It also implemented mandatory “Inclusion Standards” across ABC, requiring, for example, that “50 percent of regular and recurring characters” be drawn from “underrepresented groups.” These standards may have forced racial and identity quotas into every level of production—demanding that “50% or more” of writers, directors, crew, and vendors be selected based on group identity. It appears that executive bonuses may also have been tied to DEI “performance,” and ABC has utilized race-based hiring databases and restricted fellowships to select demographic groups.

“If the evidence does in fact play out and shows that they were engaged in race- and gender-based discrimination, that’s a very serious issue at the FCC, that could fundamentally go to their character qualifications to even hold a license,” Carr told Fox in April.

Disney Responds To FCC Inquiry

In response, Disney said it has received FCC early license renewal request and is confident that its “record demonstrates our continued qualifications as licensees under the Communications Act and the First Amendment and we are prepared to show that through the appropriate legal channels. Our focus remains, as always, on serving viewers in the local communities where our stations operate.”

FCC Move Apparently In The Works Before Kimmel’s Jokes About Melania

When news broke Tuesday about the proposed early license examination, many observers suggested the move might be tied to comments made by the ABC late night host last Thursday:

On Thursday, Jimmy Kimmel gave his version of what he would say if he had been asked to perform at the upcoming White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday. That event has traditionally asked a comedian to perform, but this year opted to hire a magician.

Kimmel took aim at the entire Trump Family, including Melania Trump. The monologue included this line, which in retrospect was ill-timed”

“And of course, our first lady, Melania, is here. Look at—so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.”

That joke – and others from Kimmel aimed at the First Lady – prompted her to post a complaint on the social media platform X:

“Kimmel’s hateful and violent rhetoric is intended to divide our country. His monologue about my family isn’t comedy— his words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America.”

“People like Kimmel shouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate. A coward, Kimmel hides behind ABC because he knows the network will keep running cover to protect him.”

Her husband, President Trump, later weighed in with his own complaints on Truth Social:

Wow, Jimmy Kimmel, who is in no way funny as attested to by his terrible Television Ratings, made a statement on his Show that is really shocking. He showed a fake video of the First Lady, Melania, and our son, Barron, like they were actually sitting in his studio, listening to him speak, which they weren’t, and never would be. He then stated, “Our First Lady, Melania, is here. Look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.”

A day later a lunatic tried entering the ballroom of the White House Correspondents Dinner, loaded up with a shotgun, handgun, and many knives. He was there for a very obvious and sinister reason. I appreciate that so many people are incensed by Kimmel’s despicable call to violence, and normally would not be responsive to anything that he said but, this is something far beyond the pale. Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP

While the comments from Kimmel didn’t help the situation, this FCC move seems to have already been in the works before his monologue.

Update: The FCC announced the early review and I updated the story to shift from “the FCC is expected to do this,” to “The FCC announced it is doing this.” I also added a comment from Disney.