An indication is seen outdoors of the “Jimmy Kimmel Stay!” 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 Pictures
Disney’s determination this week to drag “Jimmy Kimmel Stay!” from its broadcast community ABC is shining a lightweight on part of the media enterprise over which the federal authorities has management.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump steered his administration ought to revoke the licenses of broadcast TV stations that he stated are “towards” him. Federal Communications Fee Chair Brendan Carr has made related threats, together with throughout a CNBC interview, additionally on Thursday.
It isn’t 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 middle for shoppers, 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 equivalent to Disney’s ABC, Paramount Skydance’s CBS, Comcast Corp.’s NBC and Fox Corp.’s Fox are a part of a system that requires them to acquire over-the-air spectrum licenses from the federal authorities to be able to broadcast these household-name stations.
Which means free, over-the-air service to anybody with an antenna on their TV.
Pay-TV networks equivalent to CNN, MTV or FX, for instance, are thought of “over-the-top” and accessible for subscription charges. They’re usually bundled collectively and distributed by firms equivalent to Comcast, Constitution Communications or DirecTV.
Broadcasters equivalent to ABC are identified for programming that features native information, dwell sports activities, prime-time sitcoms and dramas, in addition to late-night exhibits equivalent to “Jimmy Kimmel Stay!”
Though the best way shoppers watch these applications has considerably modified from the times of utilizing an antenna totally free viewership — now they’re usually considered through pay-TV bundles, plus the content material is ceaselessly discovered on streaming platforms — the mannequin has remained largely the identical.
Corporations that personal native broadcast TV stations, equivalent to Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair, license spectrum — or the general public airwaves — from the federal government, with the FCC in management.
Via this public spectrum for radio and TV stations, the federal company has the suitable to manage broadcasting and requires every community “by legislation to function its station within the ‘public curiosity, comfort and necessity.’ Usually, this implies it should air programming that’s aware of the wants and issues of its area people of license,” in keeping with the FCC web site.
Can Trump and the FCC revoke licenses?
That definition of serving the “public curiosity” is what the FCC’s Carr has zeroed in on with conversations round revoking licenses.
On Thursday, Carr instructed CNBC’s “Squawk on the Road” that feedback by Kimmel, linking the suspect within the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk to Trump’s MAGA motion, have been “not a joke,” and as a substitute, he stated, have been “showing to instantly mislead the American public about … in all probability one of the vital political occasions we have had in a very long time.”
When Trump has famous the federal government’s proper to remove licenses — each this week and up to now — he has pointed to what he stated is bias towards him as president.
“I’ve learn someplace that the networks have been 97% towards me, once more, 97% damaging,” Trump stated Thursday, referring to his 2024 election victory.
“They offer me solely dangerous 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 Stay!” was recorded for broadcast, following his suspension for remarks he made concerning 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 steered revoking their broadcast licenses.
Carr earlier this yr, freshly in his put up 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 steered the company can be wanting carefully at licenses.
“If you are going to have a license to be a broadcaster, it comes with one thing referred to as ‘you must serve the general public curiosity.’ In case you do not need to do this, that is OK,” Carr stated throughout the summit. “I offers you the handle of the FCC … you are free to show your license in and you may 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 will probably 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, which means air one thing aside from what the broader community is providing up. That may theoretically maintain the stations in compliance if the FCC have been to search 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 keeping with Roy Gutterman, a professor and knowledgeable on communications legislation 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,” Gutterman stated, including that the matter can be topic to an investigation and process — and would possible garner authorized challenges.
Usually, the dialogue of whether or not a station violated the FCC’s tips facilities round youngsters’s programming, a reduce to information content material, or obscenity — equivalent to Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction throughout 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.”
Stress mounting
There’s one other issue at play right here: The federal government’s function in native TV consolidation.
On Wednesday, earlier than ABC sidelined Kimmel, Nexstar introduced its stations affiliated with ABC would not air the late night time present and as a substitute 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 will 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 complete.
Nexstar is presently in search of authorities approval of a $6.2 billion deal to merge with fellow broadcast TV station proprietor Tegna, which might upend longstanding rules for broadcast station house owners.
Sinclair has additionally stated it is seeking 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 way of acquisitions, they have been topic to longstanding federal limits on the variety of stations that these mother or father firms can personal.
On Tuesday, Might 13, 2025 at North Javits in New York Metropolis, an unbelievable roster of all-star expertise will tout their connections to storytelling, Disney, and one another whereas showcasing their newest initiatives for the upcoming yr.
Michael Le Brecht | Disney Normal Leisure Content material | Getty Pictures
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 shoppers, and broadcast TV networks and native associates have additionally felt the results.
Whereas the stations are free to air, distributors equivalent to Constitution pay the broadcasters so-called retransmission charges, on a per-subscriber foundation, for the suitable to hold the stations. These profitable charges closely buoy the earnings of firms equivalent to 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 develop into the brand new mother or father firm of CNBC underneath a deliberate spinoff.
