By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, Oct 6 (Reuters) – A US judge on Tuesday will hold a hearing on Walt Disney’s lawsuit seeking to block the Federal Communications Commission’s early review of licenses for the firm’s eight company-owned ABC stations.
The lawsuit, filed in August, poses a key test for First Amendment free speech rights of broadcasters versus the Trump administration’s efforts to reshape the media landscape and force a “course correction.”
President Donald Trump has repeatedly urged broadcasters to drop comedy or news programs he dislikes or which have joked about or criticized him or his administration. He has also repeatedly called on the FCC to strip stations of licenses after criticizing news and other programming.
In its suit, Disney said the FCC is seeking to coerce and retaliate against “a network that refuses to bow to the administration’s demands,” calling the agency’s actions an “extraordinary assault on free speech.”
US District Judge Loren AliKhan previously declined to hand down an order barring the FCC from issuing an order to refer Disney’s ABC licenses for a public hearing. The FCC has agreed to provide at least 48 hours’ notice to the court before moving ahead.
AliKhan is holding a hearing to determine whether she should issue a temporary restraining order.
FCC Chair Brendan Carr, who ordered the early reviews in April, even though the ABC stations’ license renewals were not scheduled to be considered before October 2028, said last week that he has made no decisions on how to proceed.
The FCC had not ordered an early review in more than 50 years before April.
The reviews were ordered a day after Trump urged ABC to fire late-night host Jimmy Kimmel.
Broadcast stations need FCC licenses to use public airwaves. While license revocations are extremely rare, critics say threats of losing a license can pressure broadcasters and raise concerns about government interference in programming decisions.
The FCC is also investigating ABC daytime talk show “The View,” which discusses politics, after saying it may be subject to federal rules requiring broadcasters to provide equal opportunities to political candidates. Disney noted that since February, the program has not invited any political candidates to appear, citing the FCC’s “pressure campaign.”
Last month, Kimmel said FCC threats prevented the airing of his interview with Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico during a broadcast. The interview was instead posted on YouTube, where it has been viewed over 13 million times.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus)
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