An indication is seen outdoors of the “Jimmy Kimmel Dwell!” present outdoors the El Capitan Leisure Centre on Hollywood Boulevard, from the place the present is broadcast in Hollywood, California on Sept. 18, 2025.
Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Photos
Disney’s choice this week to drag “Jimmy Kimmel Dwell!” from its broadcast community ABC is shining a lightweight on part of the media enterprise through which the federal authorities has management.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump instructed his administration ought to revoke the licenses of broadcast TV stations which can be “towards” him. Federal Communications Fee Chair Brendan Carr has made related threats, together with throughout a CNBC interview, additionally on Thursday.
It is not the primary time Trump or Carr has invoked the federal government’s energy to drag a broadcast station license – placing an in-the-weeds a part of the media enterprise entrance and heart for customers, and flexing the federal government’s energy over a significant a part of the trade.
What’s a broadcast license?
Let’s begin with the fundamentals: Networks like Disney’s ABC, Paramount Skydance’s CBS, Comcast Corp.’s NBC and Fox Corp.’s Fox are a part of a system beholden to licensing over-the-air spectrum from the federal government with a view to broadcast these family title stations.
Meaning free, over-the-air service to anybody with an antenna on their TV.
Pay TV networks like CNN, MTV or FX, for instance, are thought-about “over-the-top” and accessible for subscription charges. They’re usually bundled collectively and distributed by corporations like Comcast, Constitution Communications or DirecTV.
Broadcasters like ABC are recognized for programming together with native information, reside sports activities video games and content material together with primetime sitcoms and dramas, in addition to late evening reveals like “Jimmy Kimmel Dwell!”
Though the best way customers watch these applications has considerably modified from the times of utilizing an antenna without cost viewership – now usually seen through pay TV bundles, plus the content material is often discovered on streaming platforms – the mannequin has remained largely the identical.
The businesses that personal native broadcast TV stations like Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair license spectrum — or the general public airwaves — from the federal government, with the FCC in management.
By means of this public spectrum for radio and TV stations, the federal company has the fitting to manage broadcasting, and in alternate, requires the networks “by regulation to function its station within the ‘public curiosity, comfort and necessity.’ Usually, this implies it should air programming that’s attentive to the wants and issues of its area people of license,” in line with the FCC web site.
Can Trump and the FCC revoke licenses?
That definition of serving the “public curiosity” is the place the FCC’s Carr has zeroed in with conversations round revoking licenses.
On Thursday, Carr instructed CNBC’s “Squawk on the Avenue” that feedback by Kimmel, linking the alleged killer of conservative activist Charlie Kirk to Trump’s MAGA motion, have been “not a joke,” and as an alternative, he stated, have been “showing to immediately mislead the American public about … most likely probably the most important political occasions we have had in a very long time.”
When Trump famous the federal government’s proper to remove licenses – each this week and previously – he pointed to what he believes is bias towards him as president.
“I’ve learn someplace that the networks have been 97% towards me, once more, 97% destructive,” Trump stated Thursday referring to his 2024 election victory.
“They offer me solely unhealthy publicity, press. I imply, they’re getting a license,” Trump stated. “I might assume possibly their license ought to be taken away.”
Folks protest on the El Capitan Leisure Centre, the place “Jimmy Kimmel Dwell!” was recorded for broadcast, following his suspension for remarks he made relating to Charlie Kirk’s assassination, on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, U.S. Sept. 18, 2025.
David Swanson | Reuters
In August, Trump accused networks ABC and NBC of being “two of the worst and most biased networks in historical past,” and instructed revoking their broadcast licenses.
Carr earlier this 12 months, freshly in his publish as FCC chairman, reawakened complaints directed at ABC, NBC and CBS from the conservative group the Middle for American Rights.
And in February, throughout a dialog at Semafor’s “Innovating to Restore Belief in Information” summit in Washington, D.C., he instructed the company could be wanting intently at licenses.
“If you are going to have a license to be a broadcaster, it comes with one thing known as ‘it’s important to serve the general public curiosity.’ In the event you do not wanna do this, that is OK,” stated Carr in the course of the summit. “I provides you with the deal with of the FCC … you are free to show your license in and you’ll go podcast and also you go over-the-top.”
What occurs if ABC or NBC loses its license?
If the federal authorities deems a broadcast TV community is not appearing within the public curiosity, it may possibly revoke the license from the station’s proprietor, and the native station would successfully go darkish in its market.
The native networks can preempt the programming, that means air one thing aside from what the broader community is providing up. That may theoretically preserve the stations in compliance if the FCC have been to seek out the printed content material illegal. But it surely’s unclear the place that line would fall.
The method of revoking a license is not so easy, in line with Roy Gutterman, a professor and skilled on communications regulation and the First Modification at Syracuse College’s Newhouse Faculty.
“There’s an entire course of earlier than you’ll be able to yank somebody’s license,” stated Gutterman, including the matter could be topic to an investigation and process — and would seemingly garner authorized challenges.
Usually, the dialogue of whether or not a station violated the FCC’s pointers facilities round kids’s programming, a lower to information content material or obscenity – reminiscent of Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction in the course of the Tremendous Bowl in 2004.
Trump and his administration’s threats take a distinct tack.
“That is such an unprecedented problem,” Gutterman stated. “Accountable use of the airwaves does not imply having the political language [the government] would not need on there … Accountable use is not a political problem.”
Strain mounting
There’s one other issue at play right here: The federal government’s position in native TV consolidation.
On Wednesday, earlier than ABC sidelined Kimmel, Nexstar introduced its stations affiliated with ABC would not air the late evening present, and as an alternative would preempt it “for the foreseeable future” because of the host’s statements.
Whereas Disney owns a portion of its ABC affiliated networks, Nexstar, in addition to Sinclair – which equally stated it might preempt the present – personal the overwhelming majority. Nexstar owns about 30 ABC affiliated networks throughout the U.S. – or 10% of the greater than 200 stations Nexstar owns in whole.
Nexstar is at the moment searching for authorities approval of a $6.2 billion deal to merge with fellow broadcast TV station proprietor Tegna, which might upend longstanding laws for broadcast station house owners.
Sinclair has additionally stated it is trying to merge its broadcast TV station enterprise with one other competitor, though a deal has but to be introduced.
Whereas Nexstar and its friends have bulked up over time by means of acquisitions, they have been topic to longstanding federal limits on the variety of stations that these mother or father corporations can personal.
On Tuesday, Might 13, 2025 at North Javits in New York Metropolis, an unimaginable roster of all-star expertise will tout their connections to storytelling, Disney, and one another whereas showcasing their newest initiatives for the upcoming 12 months.
Michael Le Brecht | Disney Common Leisure Content material | Getty Photos
Following Trump’s election in November, leaders of the station house owners – in addition to different media companies – noticed a gap for additional consolidation and offers.
The FCC’s Carr has additionally publicly stated in current months that he would assist eliminating broadcast station possession guidelines and caps, paving the best way for such offers, which might assist salvage a enterprise mannequin that is being disrupted.
With the rise of streaming, the pay TV ecosystem has bled customers, and broadcast TV networks and native associates have additionally felt the results.
Whereas the stations are free to air, distributors like Constitution pay the broadcasters so-called retransmission charges, on a per-subscriber foundation, for the fitting to hold the stations. These profitable charges closely buoy the earnings of corporations like Nexstar, which suggests dwindling pay-TV clients cuts into broadcast earnings.
Disclosure: Comcast is the mother or father firm of NBCUniversal, which owns CNBC. Versant would turn into the brand new mother or father firm of CNBC beneath a deliberate spinoff.
