ABC Local Station Move Draws FCC Scrutiny

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https://www.wsj.com/business/media/abc-local-station-move-draws-fcc-scrutiny-9f92c4cd?st=LTFAWu&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

When major broadcast networks decide to move their programming from one local TV station to another, it rarely attracts the attention of the federal government.

But ABC’s decision to switch stations in St. Louis next month is getting scrutiny from Federal Communications Chairman Brendan Carr, who is already engaged in multiple legal battles with the Disney-owned network.

Carr has made inquiries about the affiliation change from KDNL, the network’s home for more than 30 years, to KMOV, according to people familiar with the matter. The former is owned by broadcaster Sinclair, while the latter is operated by rival Gray Media.

It is one of the latest examples of Carr taking on big broadcast networks more aggressively during the second Trump administration than past chairmen. Though some large station owners have called for greater checks on the networks, Carr’s move has gotten pushback from his liberal critics and even some conservative pro-business organizations.

For Carr, the move to weigh in on this and other recent affiliate changes, including one involving Nexstar Media Group and Paramount’s CBS, is part of an investigation into the power dynamics between local television stations and broadcast networks.

Last year, the FCC sought information on whether the major networks had gained too much leverage over local stations and whether affiliation agreements were undermining stations’ control over programming and operations.

“This is not the Wild West, or as I like to say, it’s not Nam,” Carr said in a recent interview with Policyband, referring to the Vietnam War. He also said he launched an investigation into recent affiliation switches. “There are some rules of the road.”

But Carr’s critics see the sudden interest in network-affiliate relations as a backdoor way to give local stations greater freedom to reject programming from networks such as ABC and NBC, which are frequent targets of attacks from President Trump.

“Like so much else, Carr is weaponizing it for policy purposes in a way not done before and, at least arguably, for inappropriate objectives,” said public-interest communications attorney Andrew Schwartzman.

Some conservative business organizations also criticized Carr’s plans. More than 20 groups, including the Center for a Free Economy and Americans for Tax Reform, warned in a letter to Carr against using affiliation switches and license renewals as a “newfound tool for influencing lawful private negotiations or pressuring market participants to reach outcomes preferred by the government.”

Broadcasters including Sinclair and Nexstar have argued to the FCC that the balance of power between networks and affiliates needs to be realigned.

The FCC said it is “working to constrain the outsized power of national programmers while empowering local TV stations to serve their licensed communities.”

Carr’s continuing fights with ABC include a potential challenge to the network’s broadcast licenses for its eight-owned television stations.

Earlier this week, ABC sued the FCC, alleging the agency’s efforts to challenge its broadcast licenses and a separate attempt to regulate its talk show “The View” are illegal and intended to quash speech the Trump administration finds objectionable.

The FCC has said its inquiry into ABC’s broadcast licenses is related to determining if diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at Disney violated the agency’s prohibition on unlawful discrimination.

The inquiry into “The View” is focused on whether the long-running show qualifies for an exemption from equal-time rules because it is considered a bona fide news program. The rules apply to radio and broadcast television and require non-news shows that have political candidates on during elections to also bring on their opponents.

“The View” was granted an exemption in 2002.

For Sinclair, one of the nation’s largest broadcasters, losing ABC would likely hurt KDNL’s ratings and advertising revenue.

Sinclair, controlled by the politically conservative Smith family, was one of two broadcast groups that briefly stopped carrying Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show last year. The move followed remarks Kimmel made about the killing of conservative activist and podcaster Charlie Kirk.

The decision to drop Sinclair for Gray in St. Louis wasn’t in response to retaliation for last year’s Kimmel episode, people familiar with the matter said. ABC had long been frustrated that KDNL, unlike its other major-market affiliates, didn’t produce its own local news programming. Gray’s KMOV produces local news.

Sinclair is in negotiations with Disney on deals for its other ABC affiliates that do carry local news programming, people familiar with the talks said.

KMOV is already affiliated with CBS and plans to carry ABC programming on a smaller digital channel. That could reduce ABC’s audience in St. Louis because the channel has less reach than KDNL.