Disney’s ABC Sues FCC And Can Lean On Decades Of Deregulation

BusinessMediaDisney’s ABC Sues FCC And Can Lean On Decades Of DeregulationByHoward Homonoff,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Leading writer, opinion leader and expert witness in media industryFollow AuthorAug 24, 2026, 02:36pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.BURBANK, CALIFORNIA - MAY 04: A mobile billboard sponsored by MoveOn circles Disney headquarters with a message urging new Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro to protect free speech and stand firm against FCC censorship on May 04, 2026 in Burbank, California. (Photo by Anna Webber/Getty Images for MoveOn.org Civic Action )Getty Images for MoveOn.org Civic ActionDisney’s ABC TV stations sued the Federal Communications Commission last week, pre-emptively looking to halt the Commission’s attack on ABC’s licenses to broadcast TV. Ironically for the Trump Administration – if there is any sense of irony left in Washington, DC – the present threats to revoke ABC’s licenses follow decades of mostly Republican-led efforts to diminish the federal government’s ability to do exactly what the FCC now seems to want. The Disney/ABC action seems like an inevitable next step in a fraught regulatory environment for major media companies and especially their broadcast operations since the outset of the second Trump Administration. In its complaint, Disney claims that “the Administration has waged a retaliatory campaign against ABC for a single reason: it disapproves of what ABC broadcasts.” The specific FCC actions involve an accelerated timetable for reviewing ABC’s broadcast licenses, without which a broadcaster literally cannot broadcast. Disney argues that the FCC’s decision to start these administrative proceedings is aimed at what is calls “the Commission’s true purpose: coercing and retaliating against a network that refuses to bow to the Administration’s demands.” No matter how one views the s...