Disney’s ABC is taking to the airwaves with a viewer awareness campaign to rally support for its two ongoing FCC proceedings about “The View” and the network’s broadcast licenses.
The regulator is currently accepting the public’s comment on the early broadcast license renewals for its eight owned stations and a petition to declare that “The View” qualifies as a “bona fide” news interview program.
Starting Monday, “The View” on-air spots will run during a commercial break within the hour of the show, while the local station spots will run across all dayparts in their respective markets, which include New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston, San Francisco, Raleigh-Durham and Fresno.
Images will also run across OTV sites, TheView.tv and ABC.com, as well as social media.
“ABC believes it is important for the public to know what is happening, what’s at stake, and how to engage directly in the process if they want to make their voices heard,” the network said.
In January, the FCC issued new guidance warning that late night and daytime talk shows will not be exempt from the equal opportunities requirements put in place by Congress.
Under the Communications Act of 1934, Congress put protections in place
to ensure equal access to broadcast station facilities for legally qualified candidates for office, regardless of political affiliation. The rule covers individuals who have publicly announced their intention to run for office and qualify under applicable state or federal law to hold the office being sought.
In 2006, the FCC determined that “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” qualified for an exemption from the rule as a “bona fide news interview” — the first time that such an exemption had been applied to a late night talk show.
The agency said it has “not been presented with any evidence that the interview portion of any late night or daytime television talk show program on air presently would qualify for the bona fide news exemption.” It added that any program that is “motivated by partisan purposes” would not be entitled to an exemption under longstanding FCC precedent.
A month later, FCC chairman Brendan Carr confirmed that the regulator launched an investigation into “The View” for allegedly violating the “equal time” rule when it aired an interview with then Texas Democratic Senatorial candidate James Talarico.
Then in April, the FCC demanded that ABC submit an early license renewal for its eight owned affiliate stations as part of an investigation into Disney’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices. A month later, ABC said it was filing the early renewal “under protest” in response to the agency’s “unlawful, arbitrary, and unconstitutional” order.
“The Commission had not demanded early renewal in over five decades. And it has never before demanded simultaneous license renewal applications from a group of stations commonly owned with a network as it has here,” the network said at the time. “The Order has no legitimate purpose. There is no information that the application will reveal that the Commission could not obtain through other means. The Order is inconsistent with a legitimate exercise of investigative authority and is plainly incompatible with the First Amendment.”
The public can comment via the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System online and enter the corresponding docket number along with their submission.
The deadline for public comment in “The View” proceeding is Monday, with replies due July 6. Meanwhile, the deadline for petitions to deny the license renewal are June 29, while opposition is due July 29 and replies are due Aug. 5.
The docket for “The View” inquiry is No. 26-124, while the docket for the license renewal inquiry is No. 26-131.
Check out “The View” and license renewal spots below:
