Spouse anon, an actual journalist, went to three network affiliates in a major market to examine the stations FCC filings which are public documents. None were up to date and were missing information, and documentation was unorganized. The people who had the documents were shocked and surprised that anyone would even want to see them.

ABC Accuses Trump Administration of Threatening Its Broadcast Licenses

It is exceedingly hard for the government to revoke station licenses under the law, and the process for trying to do so would most likely outlast Mr. Trump’s presidency. But a hearing could come much sooner, giving Mr. Trump and Mr. Carr, his lead attacker against the major networks, a high-profile venue at which to hurl accusations of bias against a presidential media bête noire.

In a public notice issued earlier Thursday, the agency emphasized the rights it has to enforce “public interest standards” for broadcast stations. The standards require stations to provide candidates running for the same political office equal time on non-news shows, to refrain from indecent content and to provide a certain amount of children’s programming each week.

Since assuming the F.C.C. chairmanship at the start of Mr. Trump’s presidency, Mr. Carr has accused the networks of having a liberal bias that could by itself place them in violation of the public interest standards — raising hackles from free-speech advocates and, most recently, ABC itself.

But the F.C.C.’s public notice asserted that the agency’s authority was a “supple instrument” that could be used to force compliance, and that it had flexibility in deciding when and how to apply its powers, including by calling on stations to apply for their licenses early.

In its filing, ABC noted that the F.C.C. had not called for an early station renewal in more than 50 years and had never done so for an entire group of network-owned stations at once.

“This effort to suppress speech under the guise of bureaucratic process must not prevail,” the network wrote, calling on the agency to “rescind the order.”

In his statement on Thursday, Mr. Carr said the F.C.C. had ordered ABC to apply early for its licenses after the commission “informed the company that their responses to the agency’s investigation had been disingenuous, deficient and improper.”

But ABC said in its application package that it had supplied all requested documents, numbering in the thousands. It said no one at the agency had indicated that the F.C.C. found its cooperation to be insufficient before the F.C.C. issued its order.

The F.C.C. could grant renewals of ABC’s licenses. But if Mr. Carr decides against renewing them, he would have to hold a hearing on the issue either before the agency’s administrative law judge or before a gathering of the full commission, which currently has two Republicans — Mr. Carr and Olivia Trusty — and one Democrat, Anna Gomez.

Even then, ABC would be able to appeal up to the federal court circuit, opening an entirely new round of litigation. The process could take several years, and ABC would maintain its right to broadcast on its stations as it played out.

But the process would leave a cloud over the network’s future finances, as its stations are important revenue generators. Already, the network said, it was given an unusually short amount of time to draft applications for eight stations. It said that it had asked for a 60-day extension “to ensure a more orderly and thorough diligence process” but that the agency “denied the request without explanation.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/business/media/abc-licenses-fcc-brendan-carr.html?unlocked_article_code=1.mFA.y8zo.nAyj2qjbSWVp