FCC’s Brendan Carr Launches Early Review of Disney’s ABC TV Licenses
Wall Street Journal
April-28-2026
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr is launching an early review of Disney’s broadcast television licenses, the regulatory agency said Tuesday.
The review comes one day after President Trump called for ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel to be fired for a joke he made at the expense of first lady Melania Trump last week on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” which is broadcast by Disney’s ABC network.
The comedian’s comments were made days before an alleged gunman opened fire outside the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night, leading to the event’s abrupt cancellation. The suspect, Cole Allen, has been charged with attempting to assassinate Trump, along with other counts. Trump called for Kimmel’s firing on Monday.
Late Monday, Kimmel dismissed Trump’s calls for ABC to remove him, calling his prior remarks a “very light roast.”
The early license review is an outgrowth of an FCC probe launched last March into Disney’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The timing of correspondence so close to Kimmel’s latest fight with the administration is “coincidental,” the person familiar with the FCC’s plans said.
In its order, the FCC’s Media bureau said it has been investigating the stations for “violations of the Communications Act of 1934 and the FCC’s rules, including the agency’s prohibition on unlawful discrimination” tied to DEI initiatives.
The FCC said Disney’s ABC has until May 28 to file its early license renewals.
Disney said it received the order and is confident the “record demonstrates our continued qualifications as licensees under the Communications Act and the First Amendment and are prepared to show that through the appropriate legal channels.”
Historically, the FCC has seldom launched an early review of a broadcast license. The last time the FCC revoked a broadcast license related to a station’s programming was in 1969, when a Jackson, Miss., station lost its license for defending segregation on the air.
Carr has previously called DEI a form of discrimination and, along with Trump, urged American corporations to end the practice.
Disney owns eight ABC TV outlets in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. The licenses for those stations come up for renewal between 2028 and 2031.
On Kimmel’s April 23 show, the host presented a mock White House Correspondents’ Dinner speech where he joked that the first lady had “a glow like an expectant widow.”
On Monday morning, Melania Trump encouraged ABC to “take a stand” against Kimmel. “How many times will ABC’s leadership enable Kimmel’s atrocious behavior at the expense of our community,” she wrote on X.
The president then called for ABC parent Disney to fire Kimmel “immediately,” saying in a Truth Social post that his comments were “far beyond the pale.” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also criticized Kimmel on Monday.
On Monday night, Kimmel pushed back on the criticism of his joke. “It was not by any stretch of the definition a call to assassination and they know that. I’ve been very vocal for many years speaking out against gun violence in particular,” he said.
When the FCC launched its probe into Disney’s DEI practices last year, Carr wrote then-Chief Executive Bob Iger that the agency was concerned that the company might still be promoting DEI “in a matter that does not comply with FCC regulations.”
Robert Corn-Revere, a First Amendment attorney and former senior FCC official, questioned the timing of the FCC’s planned review. “Ordering early license renewal because the president doesn’t like the jokes on a late night talk show would be a retaliatory act and an obvious violation of the First Amendment,” he said.
Although DEI is the premise for the accelerated review, once a review is launched it can broaden out.
Last year, Carr criticized Kimmel for remarks he made about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, telling CNBC the comedian directly misled the public about the shooting.
In the broadcast in question, Kimmel said that “the MAGA gang [is] desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”
ABC pulled Kimmel for several days after two major ABC affiliate owners—Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair—said they would stop carrying the show. Kimmel soon returned, and his contract was later extended through May 2027.
April-28-2026
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr is launching an early review of Disney’s broadcast television licenses, the regulatory agency said Tuesday.
The review comes one day after President Trump called for ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel to be fired for a joke he made at the expense of first lady Melania Trump last week on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” which is broadcast by Disney’s ABC network.
The comedian’s comments were made days before an alleged gunman opened fire outside the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night, leading to the event’s abrupt cancellation. The suspect, Cole Allen, has been charged with attempting to assassinate Trump, along with other counts. Trump called for Kimmel’s firing on Monday.
Late Monday, Kimmel dismissed Trump’s calls for ABC to remove him, calling his prior remarks a “very light roast.”
The early license review is an outgrowth of an FCC probe launched last March into Disney’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The timing of correspondence so close to Kimmel’s latest fight with the administration is “coincidental,” the person familiar with the FCC’s plans said.
In its order, the FCC’s Media bureau said it has been investigating the stations for “violations of the Communications Act of 1934 and the FCC’s rules, including the agency’s prohibition on unlawful discrimination” tied to DEI initiatives.
The FCC said Disney’s ABC has until May 28 to file its early license renewals.
Disney said it received the order and is confident the “record demonstrates our continued qualifications as licensees under the Communications Act and the First Amendment and are prepared to show that through the appropriate legal channels.”
Historically, the FCC has seldom launched an early review of a broadcast license. The last time the FCC revoked a broadcast license related to a station’s programming was in 1969, when a Jackson, Miss., station lost its license for defending segregation on the air.
Carr has previously called DEI a form of discrimination and, along with Trump, urged American corporations to end the practice.
Disney owns eight ABC TV outlets in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. The licenses for those stations come up for renewal between 2028 and 2031.
On Kimmel’s April 23 show, the host presented a mock White House Correspondents’ Dinner speech where he joked that the first lady had “a glow like an expectant widow.”
On Monday morning, Melania Trump encouraged ABC to “take a stand” against Kimmel. “How many times will ABC’s leadership enable Kimmel’s atrocious behavior at the expense of our community,” she wrote on X.
The president then called for ABC parent Disney to fire Kimmel “immediately,” saying in a Truth Social post that his comments were “far beyond the pale.” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also criticized Kimmel on Monday.
On Monday night, Kimmel pushed back on the criticism of his joke. “It was not by any stretch of the definition a call to assassination and they know that. I’ve been very vocal for many years speaking out against gun violence in particular,” he said.
When the FCC launched its probe into Disney’s DEI practices last year, Carr wrote then-Chief Executive Bob Iger that the agency was concerned that the company might still be promoting DEI “in a matter that does not comply with FCC regulations.”
Robert Corn-Revere, a First Amendment attorney and former senior FCC official, questioned the timing of the FCC’s planned review. “Ordering early license renewal because the president doesn’t like the jokes on a late night talk show would be a retaliatory act and an obvious violation of the First Amendment,” he said.
Although DEI is the premise for the accelerated review, once a review is launched it can broaden out.
Last year, Carr criticized Kimmel for remarks he made about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, telling CNBC the comedian directly misled the public about the shooting.
In the broadcast in question, Kimmel said that “the MAGA gang [is] desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”
ABC pulled Kimmel for several days after two major ABC affiliate owners—Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair—said they would stop carrying the show. Kimmel soon returned, and his contract was later extended through May 2027.
