Attorneys for the Walt Disney Co. and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) appeared in a Washington, D.C., federal court on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, to argue whether the agency can accelerate the license renewal process for eight ABC-owned television stations. Disney is seeking a preliminary injunction from U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan to block the reviews, which were ordered by FCC Chair Brendan Carr years before their scheduled expiration dates.
The legal challenge follows repeated public statements by President Donald Trump calling for the FCC to strip ABC of its broadcast licenses. Trump has criticized the network's content, specifically citing late-night host Jimmy Kimmel and the daytime program "The View" as being unfair. Before returning to office, Trump settled a lawsuit with ABC for $16 million in December 2024 related to comments made by anchor George Stephanopoulos.
In court on Tuesday, Disney lawyer Beth Wilkinson argued that the FCC's actions serve as a form of censorship that has "chilled" the network's editorial decisions, noting that ABC chose not to air a July 16 presidential speech live to avoid further conflict. The FCC contended that the early reviews were prompted by Disney's failure to provide adequate documents during a March 2025 investigation into the company's diversity, equity, and inclusion practices. Judge AliKhan questioned the administration on why a discovery dispute necessitated an early license renewal process that had not been used in more than 50 years.
The Walt Disney Co. and its subsidiary, the ABC Network, own eight local stations in major U.S. markets including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston. While networks themselves do not require licenses, the individual stations they own must have them to use public airwaves. Media advocates suggest a successful license challenge could set a precedent for government influence over broadcast journalism and programming.
The specific editorial changes cited in court include ABC's daytime talk show "The View" declining to invite political candidates since February to avoid "equal opportunities" rules, and Jimmy Kimmel stating that an interview with a Texas Democratic Senate candidate was moved to YouTube in September 2026 due to regulatory pressure. If the FCC were to eventually revoke the licenses, the stations would be unable to broadcast over the air.
Currently, the FCC has not made a final decision on whether to revoke the licenses, and the agency has agreed to provide the court with 48 hours' notice before moving forward with any public hearings. The administration's lawyers argued that Disney should have exhausted the FCC's internal appeals process or filed in a federal appeals court rather than a district court. Judge AliKhan will decide whether to issue a preliminary injunction. The eight station licenses in question were originally scheduled to remain valid until dates ranging from 2028 to 2031.