ABC rallies liberal audience against FCC probe of The View
The spots will start airing Monday and represent another escalation in the dispute between the administration and the news company.
Loading the front page…
The spots will start airing Monday and represent another escalation in the dispute between the administration and the news company.
ABC is warning viewers about the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) recent scrutiny of The View and the agency's demands that the network's stations comply with the early renewal of their broadcast licenses.
Deadline reports the spots will start airing Monday and represent another escalation in the dispute between the administration and the news company, which has insinuated that the agency's actions threaten free speech.
The spot will feature images of Barbara Walters referencing the idea behind The View as a program featuring “different women, different points of view.”
A narrator then says, “The View has welcomed your favorite guests and covered the issues you care about for nearly 30 years now. The FCC wants to control who is allowed to appear on the show. Viewers, use your voice.” The narrator then directs viewers to a QR code where they can comment on the FCC proceeding before the July 6 deadline.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr led an investigation into The View after James Talarico, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in Texas, appeared on the program. The probe scrutinizes ABC's owned station in Houston, which maintains that the talk show qualifies as a news program. The equal-time rule requires broadcasters to provide political candidates with equal airtime if requested by their opponents.
ABC has pushed back against the FCC and accused the agency of acting politically and taking "unprecedented" actions that diverge from years of precedent, during which the show has been treated as a "bona fide" news program and exempt from equal-time requirements.
In a separate proceeding, the FCC is taking public comments on the renewal of licenses for eight stations that the network owns: WABC-TV in New York, KABC-TV in Los Angeles, WLS-TV in Chicago, WPVI-TV in Philadelphia, KTRK-TV in Houston, KGO-TV in San Francisco, WTVD-TV in Raleigh-Durham, N.C., and KFSN-TV in Fresno, California, per Deadline.
ABC stations were not scheduled to begin the license renewal process until 2028, but Carr ordered the review, citing the recent investigation into Disney's DEI policies.
Libby’s Desk
Commentary and must-reads from Libby’s desk, straight to your inbox.
TPM Newsletter
The Post Millennial’s top stories, delivered to your inbox.
