ABC, FCC escalate war of words over station licenses, “The View”
ABC 7 takes fight with the agency to the public
The fight between The Walt Disney Co.’s ABC and the FCC escalated Monday, with the network urging to write and contact the FCC in support of The View and its eight owned-and-operated stations, including ABC 7 Chicago (WLS-TV) here.
Two issues are in play: whether or not The View is a bona fide news program, and whether ABC is fit to hold licenses in eight markets, including Chicago – areas that are mostly blue when it comes to politics (see the tags section below this article to see what stations ABC owns.)
“The View has welcome your favorite guests for nearly 30 years. Now the FCC wants to control who is allowed to appear on the show”, in an on-air PSA and in a statement they released on social media. This stems from an appearance by a Texas Senate candidate on the show earlier this year as daytime and late-night shows generally were exempt from providing equal-time. But FCC Chairman Brendan Carr modified those rules, which had been in effect since 2002. Democratic commissioner Anna Gomez pointed out the agency urged Texas ABC’s affiliates to put this in their public inspection files, but didn’t extend the same courtesy to ABC’s owned station in Houston, KTRK.
Meanwhile, the network has launched an online and on-air campaign, urging viewers in the eight markets affected to voice their support of their stations:
No one supports your community like Channel 7. But the FCC questions that commitment. https://t.co/VrxQwF1GZ7 pic.twitter.com/fG0ApdYfbc
— ABC 7 Chicago (@ABC7Chicago) June 22, 2026
ABC 7 aired a promo for their cause on Monday and posted on YouTube:
In April, the FCC made the unusual decision to call for an early renewal of their television licenses, claiming the station group violated DEI rules, but this came a day after President Trump called for the firing of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, who skewed him and First Lady Melania Trump, calling her “an expectant widow”. ABC stated this is about programming the President doesn’t like and said Carr’s actions threatens the First Amendment.
The FCC was quick to fire back at ABC Monday: “Disney wants the FCC to classify ‘The View’ as a ‘bona fide news program.’ And it has chosen to run a campaign of misinformation to make its case—misleading viewers about the law. That is a choice”, signaling the two may be in for a very long court fight. The WSNS-TV saga lasted over a decade in the 1980s and 1990s, with WSNS losing its license in 1990 and was fought on appeal.
This is not the first time a media conglomerate has appealed to viewers regarding a pending FCC action. Last year, Nexstar urged viewers to support industry deregulation before the company bought Tegna, which was approved by the FCC last year, but is now being held up by the courts.
Despite ABC’s pandering, it is unlikely ABC 7 or any of its sister stations will “go off the air”, as Disney will fight any action the FCC takes in court (one where the FCC is unlikely to win.) While this campaign will draw distractors such as tiny local right-wing organizations such as Chicago Flips Red, Amy Jacobson, the corrupt Chicago cop who runs a “news” website, (and those who thought Cheryl Burton should have been fired instead of Mark Giangreco), there will be a lot of support for ABC 7, given they have been the top-rated news station for 40 years, and largely avoided the same boneheaded moves each of their competitors have made.