ABC fights FCC probe over The View’s candidate airtime exemptions

ABC on Tuesday told the Federal Communications Commission that its probe into The View’s handling of candidate airtime threatens editorial independence and chills protected speech as it weighs whether the daytime talk show qualifies for a news exemption.

The network’s May 7 petition, filed by KTRK-TV in Houston and American Broadcasting Companies, Inc., asks the FCC to declare The View a bona fide news interview program exempt from the equal-opportunities requirement in Section 315 of the Communications Act of 1934. ABC argues the program should receive the same exemption granted more than 20 years ago.

Section 315 generally requires broadcast stations using public spectrum to give legally qualified candidates equal opportunities, but Congress carved out exceptions for bona fide news interview programs. The FCC’s Media Bureau opened a public comment proceeding on ABC’s petition on May 22, with comments due June 22 and reply comments due July 6. The bureau also issued guidance on Jan. 21, 2026, on how the equal-opportunities rule applies to daytime and late-night talk shows.

On April 28, the FCC ordered Disney’s ABC to file early license-renewal applications for all of its licensed television stations and said it was investigating possible violations of the Communications Act and ABC’s public-interest obligations. Those renewals were not originally due until 2028. The order covers ABC-owned stations in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston, San Francisco, Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, and Fresno, California.

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press urged the FCC on June 22 to exempt The View from the equal-time rule, warning that forcing equal time could chill political news coverage and undercut broadcasters’ good-faith editorial judgments. Brendan Carr said that classifying The View as bona fide news would remove it from political equal-time requirements Congress adopted decades ago.

ABC began airing spots urging viewers to contact the FCC and support the network. The agency rebuked that campaign on June 22, and the Media Research Center filed a petition on June 29 asking the FCC to deny renewal of ABC-owned stations.