FCC Asks Court to Reject Disney Lawsuit Over ABC Licenses
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What happened
In August, Disney and ABC sued the Federal Communications Commission, alleging the agency violated their First Amendment rights by ordering an early license-renewal review of all eight Disney-owned ABC broadcast stations, whose licenses would not otherwise come up until 2028 at the earliest. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr had directed Disney to submit those applications years ahead of schedule, citing an ongoing investigation into whether Disney and ABC engaged in prohibited discrimination. In a filing made public Thursday, FCC lawyers asked a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit as premature because the commission has not yet decided whether to take any enforcement action, and to reject Disney’s request for a preliminary injunction that would block referral of the licenses to a public hearing. U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan scheduled a hearing on that request for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction for October 6.
Sourcing check · Fully on the record · 2 articles
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Omitted — what each side leaves out
Unpacked
Right-leaning coverage is simply more complete on the legal claims. The Hill reports only that the FCC asked a judge to toss Disney's suit as premature after calling stations for early license renewal. Right-leaning coverage reports that Disney sued alleging a First Amendment violation, while the FCC says the accelerated review is tied to an investigation of prohibited discrimination. A reader of the shorter account would not know the licenses were pulled forward over that probe, or that Disney calls the probe a retaliatory campaign over programming.
Right-leaning coverage follows the court-request news by stressing that no enforcement action has been taken yet. Left-leaning coverage does not mention enforcement or a requested injunction.
What specific conduct does the FCC allege as prohibited discrimination?
Bottom line
The Hill covers the FCC's request to kill Disney's suit without the First Amendment claim or the discrimination probe that the Washington Examiner puts at the center of the same filing.
The receipts — 6 facts one side's coverage lacks
- Disney and ABC sued in August accusing the FCC of violating their First Amendment rights by ordering an early renewal review of ABC-owned stations
- The early review covers all eight of Disney's ABC-owned broadcast stations
- The stations' licenses ordinarily would not be up for renewal until 2028 at the earliest
- FCC Chairman Brendan Carr ordered Disney to submit the renewal applications years ahead of schedule
- U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan scheduled a hearing on the injunction request for Oct. 6
- FCC lawyers said licensees with pending renewals are entitled to keep operating without interruption during the proceeding
The Left View
The Hill frames the filing as the FCC asking a federal judge to “toss” Disney and ABC’s lawsuit over the agency’s “move to call several of the network’s local stations for early license renewal,” reporting that commission lawyers argued the suit is premature.
The Right View
The Washington Examiner highlights the FCC’s argument that an injunction would “only hobble the Commission’s efforts to investigate and resolve serious allegations that Disney has engaged in unlawful discrimination” and to determine whether its stations serve the public interest, and that “Licensees with pending renewal applications are entitled to continue operating without interruption.” The Examiner reports Disney and ABC’s contention that the FCC’s actions are “part of a retaliatory campaign over the network’s programming and editorial decisions,” and the agency’s rejection of that characterization as tied to the discrimination investigation and “unrelated to programming decisions involving ABC, including the network’s morning show The View or late-night host Jimmy Kimmel.”
Our Take (balanced)
Disney and ABC’s strongest argument is that the early-renewal order they challenged as a First Amendment violation is “part of a retaliatory campaign over the network’s programming and editorial decisions.” The FCC’s strongest argument is that the suit is unripe—no enforcement action has been decided, stations may keep operating, and an injunction would “hobble” inquiry into “serious allegations that Disney has engaged in unlawful discrimination.” The central unresolved tension is whether the accelerated license review is a lawful public-interest investigation or unconstitutional retaliation for editorial speech.
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