{"id":3322,"date":"2026-06-30T10:08:46","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T10:08:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=3322"},"modified":"2026-06-30T10:08:46","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T10:08:46","slug":"exclusive-fcc-should-scrap-abcs-tv-licenses-media-watchdog-says-alleging-partisan-bias","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=3322","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive | FCC should scrap ABC’s TV licenses, media watchdog says, alleging partisan bias"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

A conservative media watchdog is urging the Federal Communications Commission not to renew ABC\u2019s licenses, accusing the broadcaster of partisan bias as its lucrative TV rights are up in the air.<\/p>\n

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The Media Research Center, or MRC, accused ABC of electioneering, refusing to cover critical issues, excusing political violence and spreading misinformation in a Monday filing obtained by The Post.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe 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,\u201d MRC President David Bozell told The Post.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf ABC wants to operate like a partisan cable network, it should give up the benefits reserved for broadcast licensees. No one is above the law, and ABC should not have its broadcast licenses renewed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The FCC has been reviewing eight of Disney\u2019s broadcast licenses \u2013 including ABC channels in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago \u2013 after Chairman Brendan Carr initiated a renewal process a year early, accusing the network of failing to cooperate with a probe into its DEI policies.<\/p>\n

\u201cBroadcast licenses are not sacred cows,\u201d a spokesperson for the FCC told The Post. \u201cWhen a broadcaster files an application to renew their FCC licenses, Congress has tasked the FCC with determining whether the broadcaster has served the public interest.\u00a0That is exactly what the FCC will do here.\u201d<\/p>\n

ABC has blasted the early license review, saying it serves \u201cno legitimate purpose\u201d and is an \u201ceffort to suppress speech under the guise of bureaucratic process.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

It also launched a campaign urging ABC News viewers to support its broadcast license renewals and sign a petition stating that \u201cThe View\u201d qualifies as a news interview program, amid a separate FCC investigation into the daytime talk show.<\/p>\n

In its new petition, the MRC claimed ABC has broadly pandered to the Democratic party, with mostly positive news coverage of former Vice President Kamala Harris compared to broadly negative coverage of President Trump during the 2024 presidential campaign.<\/p>\n

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The vast majority of guests on ABC\u2019s \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!\u201d were aligned with the political left, MRC said. Also, several hosts of \u201cThe View\u201d refused to interview Republicans including Trump while hosting Dems like former President Joe Biden, the filing alleged.<\/p>\n

It accused ABC of \u201cmedia blackouts\u201d and downplaying reports including The Post\u2019s bombshell coverage of Hunter Biden\u2019s laptop and the Heritage Foundation\u2019s report on Biden\u2019s autopen use.<\/p>\n

The MRC also slammed ABC on the issue of political violence, referencing controversial comments made by Kimmel after Charlie Kirk\u2019s assassination.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,\u201d the late-night host said during his Sept. 15 show\u2019s opening monologue.<\/p>\n

The FCC launched its review of ABC\u2019s licenses in the midst of a heated feud between Trump and Kimmel, after Kimmel joked that First Lady Melania Trump had a \u201cglow like an expectant widow\u201d following two assassination attempts on the president.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Trump has called for Kimmel to be fired.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The MRC also accused ABC of inaccurate reporting, referencing anchor George Stephanopoulos\u2019 on-air assertion that Trump had been found liable of raping writer E. Jean Carroll. The network paid $16 million to settle defamation claims from the president, who was found liable of sexual abuse and defamation, not rape.<\/p>\n

The MRC said that ABC released a 17-minute interview with Jussie Smollett, the hate crime hoaxer who claimed he was attacked by men in MAGA hats, and then issued just 22 seconds of coverage when Smollett\u2019s story was debunked.<\/p>\n

Read more Rare tick-borne virus turns deadly fast as US cases reach record high, experts warn<\/a><\/p>\n

ABC did not immediately respond to The Post\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A conservative media watchdog is urging the Federal Communications Commission not to renew ABC\u2019s licenses, accusing the broadcaster of partisan bias as its lucrative TV rights are up in the air.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3321,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-media"],"yoast_head":"\nExclusive | FCC should scrap ABC's TV licenses, media watchdog says, alleging partisan bias - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=3322\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Exclusive | FCC should scrap ABC's TV licenses, media watchdog says, alleging partisan bias - 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