FCC licensing power in focus as Trump calls for revoking networks over coverage

WASHINGTON — A political dispute over broadcast licensing resurfaced this week after President Donald Trump suggested that television networks that give him 'bad publicity' should have their licenses revoked, a remark that followed ABC's decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel Live after he criticized the Charlie Kirk murder suspect. The episode has reopened questions about who regulates broadcast content and what authority the Federal Communications Commission actually holds over networks.

Broadcast licenses in the United States are issued by the Federal Communications Commission, created in 1934 to regulate scarce radio frequencies and later television. The FCC has broad authority over local TV and radio stations, including sponsorship disclosures, emergency broadcasts and content standards for obscenity and decency. It does not generally regulate cable or satellite channels or online content, and it does not directly supervise the major national networks; NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox operate through affiliates.

The FCC does not oversee the networks directly and cannot policing every line of content. The agency can, however, influence media through licensing decisions, including transfers of broadcast licenses to new owners, which can effectively block mergers or acquisitions. Daniel Deacon, an assistant professor of law at the University of Michigan, said that the FCC can “effectively kill a deal by telling a broadcasting company that they can't have the licences of the company they're buying.” In practice, the commission has constrained consolidation through licensing hurdles even as antitrust reviews take place in other forums.

The commission is made up of five commissioners appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, with no more than three from any one political party. The current chairman is Brendan Carr, a Republican who has led the agency since the start of Donald Trump’s second term. The other commissioners are Anna Gomez, a Democrat, and Olivia Trusty, a Republican. Two seats are vacant after resignations in June.

Carr, whose remarks drew scrutiny, suggested there were remedies the agency could explore and that broadcasters should adjust conduct to avoid action. He said on a Benny Johnson podcast that there were ways to address the issue, adding, 'We can do this the easy way or the hard way.' Within hours, Nexstar and Sinclair, two companies that own dozens of local stations across the country affiliated with ABC, said they would stop airing Kimmel’s program. ABC later confirmed that Kimmel’s program would be suspended indefinitely. Gomez, the FCC's sole Democratic-affiliated commissioner, issued a statement criticizing administration pressure and accusing ABC of 'cowardly corporate capitulation.' 'We cannot allow an inexcusable act of political violence to be twisted into a justification for government censorship and control,' she said. 'This FCC does not have the authority, the ability, or the constitutional right to police content or punish broadcasters for speech the government dislikes.'

What role Nexstar played in the Kimmel decision also drew attention. Nexstar is the largest local-television owner in the United States, with around 200 outlets. This week it announced a $6.2 billion deal to buy Tegna, which owns more than 60 stations. The deal would require FCC approval and could be affected by consolidation rules. In a statement, Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar's broadcasting division, called Kimmel's comments 'offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse.' A company spokesperson said the decision to drop Kimmel's show 'was made unilaterally by the senior executive team at Nexstar, and they had no communication with the FCC or any government agency prior to making that decision.'

Does the FCC require stations to broadcast opposing views? In 1949 the commission began enforcing a rule known as the Fairness Doctrine, which required stations to present differing viewpoints on controversial issues. But broadcasters were given flexibility on interpreting the rule and there was no requirement that all viewpoints be given equal airtime. The rule was eliminated in 1987 during the Reagan administration as part of a broader push towards deregulation. Broadcasters are still required to give equal airtime to opposing political candidates during elections, but the FCC does not mandate balanced coverage on other issues.

Can the FCC cancel a broadcasting licence? As president and on the campaign trail, Trump has periodically returned to the idea that broadcasters who criticise him could lose their licenses. FCC rules in general require that local stations must broadcast in the public interest. But its website also mentions that it is barred by law from preventing the broadcast of any particular viewpoint. That said, experts say the rules are broad and give the agency significant leeway. 'Essentially broadcasters do not have the full First Amendment rights that the rest of us have,' says Brent Skorup, legal fellow with the libertarian Cato Institute. Skorup says enforcement of licencing regulations has dropped off since the Reagan administration in the 1980s, but that a variety of outlets—from socialist broadcasters to religious stations—were sanctioned in the FCC's earlier years. 'In theory the FCC could still rescind station licences,' he says. 'Both parties over decades have not wanted to relinquish the very powerful licencing system.'