FCC Challenging ABC Stations Licenses After Kimmel Comments

Eight Disney-owned ABC affiliates will have to prove that they have been operating in the public interest.

The Federal Communications Commission is set to challenge ABCs stations licenses.

The FCC called on Disney’s ABC licenses for early renewal, marking an escalation in tensions between the media giant and the Trump administration.

Eight Disney-owned ABC affiliates will have to prove to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr that they have been operating in the public interest.

The licenses are not up for renewal for several years, but the FCC accelerated their process after Jimmy Kimmel’s controversial joke.

During a skit, the late-night host referred to First Lady Melania as an an “expectant widow.” That prompted Melania and President Trump to respond calling it a call to violence.

Kimmel argued that it was not a call for assassination, but a joke on their age difference. However, the couple called for Kimmel to be fired.

Now, the FCC is investigating the company and its subsidiaries for compliance with its obligations as a licensed broadcaster.