Video URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSm4foW-cYk
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The FCC just ordered Disney to file broadcast license renewals two years early, for every single one of ABC’s stations, in a process the agency has effectively never used this way before. In April 2026, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr ordered Disney to submit early license renewals for its eight owned-and-operated stations, a highly unusual move, when the licenses were not otherwise up for renewal until 2028 — Deadline
For every single one of ABC’s stations. ABC’s eight owned television stations are Los Angeles’ KABC, Fresno’s KFSN, San Francisco’s KGO, Houston’s KTRK, New York’s WABC, Chicago’s WLS, Philadelphia’s WPVI and Durham’s WTVD — TheWrap
Almost certainly because the network did not fire Jimmy Kimmel last year. The FCC’s order forcing ABC to reapply for spectrum licenses on an accelerated schedule came just days after President Trump called for Jimmy Kimmel to be fired over a joke the late-night host made about First Lady Melania Trump — Variety
The agency that’s literally banned by law from censoring broadcasters. The FCC’s own website states that the agency “is prohibited by law from engaging in censorship or infringing on First Amendment rights of the press” — Deadline
Went on a podcast last fall after a Jimmy Kimmel monologue and said broadcasters can do this “the easy way or the hard way.” After Trump targeted ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, Carr appeared on a far-right podcast in September 2025 and, referring to a Kimmel monologue Republicans didn’t like, said “we can do this the easy way or the hard way” — MSNBC / Maddow Blog
ABC filed the paperwork this week under protest and said, for the record, this is an unconstitutional assault on the First Amendment. On May 28, 2026, ABC filed paperwork to renew its local TV station licenses “under protest in response to an unlawful, arbitrary, and unconstitutional order” by the FCC, attaching an objection letter that accused the agency of “unconstitutional retaliation and coercion” — CNN Business
The official cover story is that this is about a DEI investigation. The FCC said its early review of the Disney-owned ABC stations was launched following concerns around the company’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts — CNBC
The chairman went on CNBC and said with a straight face that none of this has anything to do with the First Amendment. In a May 30, 2026 interview on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street,” FCC Chair Brendan Carr said the agency’s focus remains on its investigations into Disney’s DEI practices and that pulling up the license renewal deadline is not related to First Amendment matters — CNBC