ABC has no business on public airwaves because it operates 'like a partisan cable network,’ watchdog tells FCC

The Media Research Center (MRC) has continued its crusade against Disney, declaring Monday that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) should not renew ABC’s licenses because it operates like a "partisan cable network."

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said in April that eight ABC-owned stations must prove they have been operating in the public interest as part of an ongoing look at Disney’s diversity, equity and inclusion [DEI] practices. The MRC called ABC "a political operation that peddles falsehoods, suppresses actual journalism, and justifies political violence" in a petition to the FCC. 

"We finally have an FCC willing to hold Disney and ABC accountable. Broadcast licenses are a privilege, not an entitlement. In exchange for free use of the public airwaves, broadcasters agree to serve the public interest," MRC President David Bozell told Fox News Digital.

"If ABC wants to operate like a partisan cable network, it should give up the benefits reserved for broadcast licensees," Bozell continued. "No one is above the law, and ABC should not have its broadcast licenses renewed."

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The Disney-owned ABC affiliates’ licenses were originally scheduled to be renewed between 2028 and 2031, but Trump’s FCC expedited the process. The stations are KFSN-TV in Fresno, KABC-TV in Los Angeles, KGO-TV in San Francisco, WLS-TV in Chicago, WABC-TV in New York, WTVD in Durham, North Carolina, WPVI-TV in Philadelphia and KTRK-TV in Houston.

The 27-page petition, first reported by The New York Post and obtained by Fox News Digital, said the "MRC has reviewed nearly 50,000 hours of ABC programming over 38 years, and has produced hundreds of studies detailing ABC’s systemic bias, dishonesty, and partisan activism." 

ABC is home to entertainment programs like "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" along with news offerings including "Good Morning America," "The View" and "World News Tonight."

Bozell, along with other supporters and MRC colleagues, laid out examples of the alleged bias, including criticism of ABC’s 2024 presidential debate and "The View" prominently featuring liberal guests. 

"As unethical as its motives may be, ABC has First Amendment rights. But it does not have a right to use public spectrum to do so. It has numerous, non-public spectrum avenues to express whatever opinions it wishes," the petition said. 

ABC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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ABC launched ads in those markets that declared, "The FCC is questioning our commitment to viewers by threatening to take us off the air," and urged viewers to speak up and help. 

ABC wants viewers to offer public comment through the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System online and enter the corresponding docket number along with their submission. There have been over 100,000 public comments in support of ABC.

The FCC is also investigating ABC's "The View" amid the agency's crackdown on equal time for political candidates after Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico appeared on the daytime gabfest. Disney’s ABC believes "The View" is bona fide news and, therefore, exempt from the equal time rule.   

Bozell has emerged as a thorn in Disney’s side since taking control of the conservative watchdog last year and recently penned an 18-page letter arguing "The View" is not based on newsworthiness but rather is used for "partisan purposes" such as advancing a preferred candidate. 

"ABC claims that its daytime television program The View is a ‘bona fide news interview program’ and thus should be exempt from Congress’s equal opportunity rules. This claim is belied by the facts," Bozell wrote to FCC division chief Maria Mullarkey in a letter that was first obtained by Fox News Digital. 

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"While The View may once have qualified for an exemption, the evidence shows that it has for years operated for political purposes and is therefore not entitled to an exemption to the law," he added. "The View is a political operation of the Democratic Party, not a bona fide news interview program."

Bozell said the MRC "has the documentation to demonstrate that The View is a partisan political operation that advocates for Democrats and their party, against President Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans, and for the political priorities of the left," and can prove that ABC "misrepresented its program in its petition to the FCC" by improperly citing First Amendment case law, and trivializing the actual harms of censorship through false outrage at the Commission’s legitimate questions.

"In support of its petition, MRC will be submitting 2,473 separate pieces of evidence documenting The View’s pervasive bias and, at times, willful electioneering as exhibits to this comment," Bozell wrote.