ABC began an ad campaign on Monday asking The View audience to declare their support for the broadcast network and the daily talk show as they continue facing scrutiny from the Federal Communications Commission.
The agency, led by Trump-appointed Chairman Brendan Carr, is investigating The View for possible violations of the federal equal time rule by neglecting to offer equivalent airtime to opposing political candidates. The inquiry started when the talk show only hosted Texas state Rep. James Talarico, who is running for Senate against state Attorney General Ken Paxton in November. The talk show did not host Talarico’s primary opponent at the time, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX).
Similarly, the FCC applied scrutiny to ABC by asking the network to file an early renewal request for its broadcast licenses for all of its television stations. The unprecedented review stems from the commission’s investigation into Disney’s allegedly unlawful diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
ABC argues that both federal efforts threaten free speech, and the Disney-owned company suggested as much in a 20-second television spot.
“The View has welcomed your favorite guests and covered the issues you care about for nearly 30 years,” the narrator says. “Now, the FCC wants to control who is allowed to appear on the show.”
At the end of the spot, a QR code that directs viewers to the FCC’s website is shown.
The FCC’s public comment period on its investigation of The View ends July 6. The agency is weighing whether the show should be classified as a bona fide news program, which would be exempt from the equal time rule. No exemptions are given to late-night or daytime talk shows that the FCC claims are “motivated by partisan purposes.”
One late-night host, Jimmy Kimmel, has faced extraordinary pressure from the Trump administration since he made a joke about first lady Melania Trump being an “expectant widow” before the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner shooting happened in late April. The FCC denied that its decision to require an early license review of ABC was linked to Kimmel’s joke, even though the inquiry started shortly after President Donald Trump and his wife called on ABC and Disney to take the comedian off the air.
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ABC’s anti-FCC commercial is scheduled to run throughout the day on U.S. television stations owned and operated by Disney in cities including New York and Los Angeles.
The Washington Examiner contacted the FCC for comment on ABC’s ad campaign. Carr has not addressed the commercial on social media.