The FCC is going after the broadcast licenses of Disney-owned ABC stations
The FCC is going after the broadcast licenses of Disney-owned ABC stations
美国联邦通信委员会（FCC）正针对迪士尼旗下的 ABC 电视台广播执照采取行动
The Federal Communications Commission has ordered the ABC stations owned and operated by Disney to file for an early license renewal, as reported earlier by The New York Times. In a filing on Tuesday, the FCC claims it made the decision as part of an investigation into Disney’s policies on diversity, equity, and inclusivity (DEI). 据《纽约时报》早先报道，美国联邦通信委员会（FCC）已下令迪士尼拥有并运营的 ABC 电视台提前申请执照续期。在周二提交的一份文件中，FCC 声称该决定是针对迪士尼多元化、公平和包容性（DEI）政策调查的一部分。
The move comes just one day after President Donald Trump demanded ABC fire late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, who called Melania Trump an “expectant widow” in a skit, ahead of the alleged assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. 此举发生在美国总统唐纳德·特朗普要求 ABC 解雇深夜脱口秀主持人吉米·坎摩尔（Jimmy Kimmel）的一天之后。此前，坎摩尔在白宫记者协会晚宴上的一段短剧中，将梅拉尼娅·特朗普称为“准寡妇”（expectant widow），随后发生了所谓的暗杀未遂事件。
Disney wasn’t set to renew its broadcast licenses until 2028, according to NBC News. The entertainment giant controls ABC stations in eight major markets, including Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Houston, and Philadelphia. Disney now has until May 28th to file license renewals for all of its ABC stations. 据 NBC 新闻报道，迪士尼原定于 2028 年才需更新其广播执照。这家娱乐巨头在包括洛杉矶、纽约、芝加哥、休斯顿和费城在内的八个主要市场拥有 ABC 电视台。现在，迪士尼必须在 5 月 28 日之前为其所有 ABC 电视台提交执照续期申请。
Though the NYT notes that “it is extremely difficult for the government to take away stations’ rights to broadcast,” the FCC’s order marks a concerning escalation in its fight against Disney. If the FCC does block ABC’s broadcast license renewal, Disney would be able to challenge the decision in court while its TV stations continue broadcasting, the NYT reports. 尽管《纽约时报》指出“政府要剥夺电视台的广播权极其困难”，但 FCC 的这一命令标志着其针对迪士尼的行动出现了令人担忧的升级。据《纽约时报》报道，如果 FCC 确实阻止了 ABC 的广播执照续期，迪士尼可以在法庭上对该决定提出质疑，同时其电视台将继续播出。
“The FCC determines that calling in Disney’s ABC licenses for early renewal, at this time, under the Communications Act’s public interest standard is essential within the meaning of agency regulations,” the filing says. Disney didn’t immediately respond to The Verge’s request for comment. 文件中写道：“FCC 认定，根据《通信法》的公共利益标准，此时要求迪士尼旗下的 ABC 电视台提前续期执照，在机构法规的含义内是必要的。”迪士尼未立即回应 The Verge 的置评请求。
Since Trump came into office in 2025, FCC Chair Brendan Carr has used his position to target broadcasters airing content that doesn’t align with the current administration. Last year, the FCC opened an investigation into Disney over Carr’s “concerns” that the company’s diversity, equity, and inclusivity (DEI) practices were “violating FCC equal employment opportunity regulations.” 自特朗普 2025 年上任以来，FCC 主席布伦丹·卡尔（Brendan Carr）一直利用其职位针对那些播放与现任政府立场不一致内容的广播公司。去年，FCC 对迪士尼展开了调查，原因是卡尔“担心”该公司的多元化、公平和包容性（DEI）做法“违反了 FCC 的平等就业机会法规”。
Carr later threatened to pull the broadcast licenses of stations that aired Jimmy Kimmel Live! after the late-night host commented on the man charged with killing Charlie Kirk. Disney took Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air following Carr’s threat and reinstated the show days later. 在深夜主持人坎摩尔对一名被控杀害查理·柯克（Charlie Kirk）的男子发表评论后，卡尔曾威胁要吊销播放《吉米·坎摩尔直播秀》（Jimmy Kimmel Live!）的电视台的广播执照。在卡尔发出威胁后，迪士尼将该节目停播，并在几天后恢复播出。
Carr most recently threatened news stations for their coverage of the war in Iran and said “broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not.” The chairman later attempted to clarify his statement, claiming the agency doesn’t have plans to pull broadcast licenses, and that “the only thing we’ve ever talked about pulling broadcast licenses are for operators that aren’t operating in the public interest, that are doing broadcast hoax, news distortion.” 最近，卡尔威胁了一些新闻电视台，称其对伊朗战争的报道不当，并表示“广播公司必须在公共利益下运营，否则将失去执照”。这位主席后来试图澄清他的言论，声称该机构没有吊销广播执照的计划，并表示“我们唯一谈论过吊销执照的情况，是针对那些不符合公共利益、进行广播恶作剧或新闻歪曲的运营商。”
Carr is using the FCC’s News Distortion Policy as a basis for his claims, though the agency’s own website says broadcasters are only subject to enforcement “if it can be proven that they have deliberately distorted a factual news report.” Former FCC staffers are asking a federal appeals court to repeal the rule, calling Carr’s use of the policy an “abuse of regulatory power to shape voter perception and control information.” 卡尔以 FCC 的“新闻歪曲政策”作为其主张的依据，尽管该机构自己的网站称，只有在“能够证明广播公司蓄意歪曲事实新闻报道”的情况下，才会对其进行执法。前 FCC 工作人员正请求联邦上诉法院废除该规则，称卡尔对该政策的使用是“滥用监管权力以塑造选民认知并控制信息”。
Anna Gomez, the FCC’s only Democrat commissioner, called Carr’s challenge to Disney’s broadcast licenses the agency’s “most egregious attack on the First Amendment” so far. “This is an unprecedented and politically motivated attempt to interfere with how broadcasters operate, and this unlawful overreach will fail,” Gomez says. “This should be a lesson to media companies that no amount of capitulation to this Administration will buy them protection.” FCC 唯一的民主党委员安娜·戈麦斯（Anna Gomez）称卡尔对迪士尼广播执照的挑战是该机构迄今为止“对第一修正案最严重的攻击”。戈麦斯表示：“这是一次前所未有的、出于政治动机的干预广播公司运营的企图，这种非法的越权行为终将失败。这应该给媒体公司一个教训：无论对本届政府做出多少妥协，都无法换取保护。”