American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission
Case Overview
On August 18, 2026, The Walt Disney Company, American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. (ABC), and ABC's eight owned-and-operated television stations sued the Federal Communications Commission and its commissioners in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleging that the agency has waged a retaliatory campaign against ABC for its news coverage and editorial choices in violation of the First Amendment. The complaint centers on an FCC order directing all eight ABC stations to file broadcast-license-renewal applications years ahead of schedule, which ABC calls unprecedented and says was issued to punish the network for its speech. The dispute traces to the September 2025 controversy over Jimmy Kimmel's on-air remarks, after which FCC Chairman Brendan Carr publicly warned that broadcasters could do this "the easy way or the hard way," and to ABC's decision not to carry a July 2026 presidential address live. ABC pleads a single claim of First Amendment retaliation, brought as a suit in equity, and asks the court to block the FCC from acting on the early-renewal applications or issuing a hearing designation order that could threaten the stations' licenses. The plaintiffs are represented by Beth A. Wilkinson and Paul D. Clement.
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