ABC can beat Trump FCC’s license threat if owner Disney is willing to fight

Disney is poised to leverage legal precedence in its upcoming battle against the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) unexpected review of its broadcast licenses. Experts in communications law assert that the company has strong grounds to contest this unusual action. The landscape of broadcast licensing underwent a significant transformation in 1996 when Congress implemented stricter regulations that made it considerably more challenging for the FCC to revoke a license, even during renewal periods. Andrew Jay Schwartzman, a senior advisor at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, emphasized that since the introduction of amendments by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) in the 1996 Telecommunications Act, broadcasters face a daunting challenge when it comes to license renewal denials. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 significantly updated the Communications Act of 1934, which laid the foundation for the FCC's legal authority. Legal scholar James Speta from Northwestern University highlighted that while the FCC operates under a 'public interest' standard, there are now stringent limits on its ability to revoke or deny licenses. Speta noted that Congress eliminated the previous comparative renewal hearings, which required broadcasters to demonstrate that their content was superior to that of competing applicants for the same license. Moreover, for a license to be revoked, the FCC must provide substantial evidence proving that the licensee has committed 'willful or repeated' violations of the law, FCC regulations, or the terms of their license. In a related development, the FCC has instructed Disney, the parent company of ABC, to submit early renewal applications for all its licensed television stations by May 28. This directive followed public comments from President Trump and the First Lady, who criticized ABC and called for the dismissal of comedian Jimmy Kimmel after he made an off-color joke about Melania Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.