ABC began running a TV spot on June 22 in the view fcc fight, telling viewers to send comments to the FCC about The View’s request for an exemption from equal time rules. The ad pushes the dispute out of the filing room and into a public comment process with a July 6 deadline.
The spot uses a direct script: “The View has welcomed your favorite guests for nearly 30 years. Now the FCC wants to control who is allowed to appear on the show. Tell the FCC to let the viewers decide. You have until July 6th.” A QR code in the ad sends viewers to the FCC’s comments portal.
Disney’s May filing
In May, Disney asked the FCC to declare The View a bona fide news interview program and exempt it from the statutory equal opportunities requirements. Disney said the Commission’s order to file this Petition for Declaratory Ruling is unprecedented, beyond the Commission’s authority, and counterproductive to the Commission’s stated goal of encouraging free speech and open political discussion.
Disney also said The View has been broadcasting under a bona fide news exemption granted to it more than 20 years ago, consistent with longstanding Commission interpretations designed to minimize the serious First Amendment problems inherent in the equal time regime. That sets up the core dispute now: Disney says the show already has a protected status, while the FCC is asking whether it should still get it.
April 28 pressure
On April 28, the administration ordered Disney’s ABC to file license renewals for all of their licensed TV stations within 30 days. Disney said the FCC’s action came after Brendan Carr indicated he was going after The View and formally issued new guidance about the equal time rule.
Disney also tied the challenge to the FCC’s ongoing probe of Disney’s diversity, equity, and inclusion hiring initiatives, saying ABC and its stations have a long record of operating in full compliance with FCC rules. The sequence matters because it puts the public comment campaign inside a broader regulatory fight, not a one-off ad buy.
July 6 comments
Brendan Carr and Donald Trump sit behind the regulatory pressure surrounding the show, but the immediate action now belongs to viewers: comment to the FCC before July 6 or let the record close without their input. For ABC, the TV spot is a way to turn a legal fight over The View into a turnout test.
