FCC opens probe into ABC’s ‘The View’ over real news status after Disney petition

WASHINGTON, DC: The Federal Communications Commission’s Media Bureau escalated its regulatory battle against major network broadcasters on Friday, May 22, by launching a formal review to determine whether the popular daytime program 'The View' should lose its protected news status.

The agency issued an official Public Notice seeking public comment on an emergency petition filed by Walt Disney Co’s ABC, which desperately seeks to preserve a decades-old exemption from federal equal-opportunity airtime laws.

The high-stakes regulatory dispute enters a critical phase under MB Docket No 26-124 and Public Notice DA 26-517, which sets a strict public comment deadline for June 22, 2026, followed by a reply window closing July 6, 2026.

ABC’s petition was originally triggered by a direct FCC mandate issued to its Houston affiliate, KTRK-TV, forcing the network to defend its programming format.

If the agency decides to strip the program of its specialized designation, the network will be legally compelled to provide identical free airtime to opposing political candidates, upending the financial and creative structure of daytime television.

Broadcaster claims First Amendment rights violation

The legal battle stems from a formal Petition for Declaratory Ruling submitted on May 7, 2026, by KTRK-TV and its parent entity, American Broadcasting Companies, Inc (ABC).

The network aggressively argues that the long-standing daytime talk show, currently co-hosted by Joy Behar, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Whoopi Goldberg, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, and Ana Navarro, fully qualifies as a "bona fide news interview program" under Section 315 of the Communications Act of 1934.

ABC insists that a binding 2002 FCC ruling exempting the show remains in full force and effect, claiming that any sudden administrative reversal would violate the network’s First Amendment rights.

Disney and ABC lawyers maintain that interviews on The View are driven strictly by newsworthiness and audience interest rather than any underlying intent to advance a specific political candidacy.

The network explicitly compared the talk show to traditional weekend news programs like Meet the Press or Face the Nation.

Network executives argue that forcing a station to provide identical airtime to fringe or opposing candidates would effectively chill critical protected speech, creating unmanageable scheduling burdens for local broadcast stations that transmit programming over public airwaves.

Regulators demand nonpartisan proof

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has publicly defended the agency's intensified scrutiny of broadcast properties, highlighting that television stations originally received their airwave spectrum for free, which ties back into their mandatory public interest obligations.

Carr has challenged the network's reliance on historical protections, noting that a letter based on the contours of a program that existed many years ago is not a binding precedent for a show broadcasting today.

Federal officials emphasize that while Congress carved out exceptions for bona fide news interviews, those rules do not apply to programs structured for narrow, partisan purposes.

Under established FCC case law, a television program automatically loses its news exemption if its scheduling decisions, participant selections, or format choices are engineered to advance or harm an individual’s candidacy.

The agency’s Public Notice explicitly questions whether The View can still be considered a bona fide news interview format or if its contemporary content functions primarily as a partisan vehicle.

Regulators maintain that the equal opportunities statute is legally necessary to prevent powerful media gatekeepers from single-handedly deciding the outcome of federal elections.

Strict administrative rules govern public comments

As the commission opens the official docket to review Disney’s operations, federal regulators are enforcing strict procedural guidelines to manage input from outside organizations and the general public.

The agency confirmed that all formal submissions and counter-arguments must be routed electronically through the Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) or delivered directly via certified postal filers to the FCC Secretary in Maryland or Washington DC.

Furthermore, the Media Bureau clarified that this specific evaluation period will be strictly governed under the Commission’s "permit-but-disclose" ex parte rules.

Under these strict administrative guidelines, any individual or network representative conducting an oral or written ex parte presentation to agency staff must file a comprehensive summary memorandum within two business days.

The agency maintains that these transparency measures are vital to ensure that the final determination on whether to strip Disney's broadcast stations of their exemption stands up to judicial review.