ABC is mounting an aggressive defense against federal regulators who want to revisit whether its popular morning talk show “The View” must comply with equal time broadcasting rules.
In a new filing made public Tuesday with the Federal Communications Commission, the network argued that the agency itself had already settled the matter more than 20 years ago. The filing came as part of the ongoing FCC review process and included what are known as “reply comments” in support of ABC’s request for an official ruling that “The View” qualifies as a legitimate news program.
ABC pointed to a 2002 FCC decision that previously recognized “The View” — the long-running morning program that blends entertainment with political discussions and frequently features commentary critical of President Donald Trump — as a bona fide news program. That designation would exempt the show from equal time requirements, which obligate broadcasters to give competing political candidates equal access to airtime.
The network had made similar accusations in a May filing, charging that the Trump administration was attempting to suppress constitutionally protected free speech and interfere with open political debate by reopening the question of the show’s status.
The dispute is part of a wider clash between the U.S. media and the Trump White House, as journalists push back against what they see as the president’s efforts to undermine press freedom. Trump has been openly critical of news organizations whose reporting conflicts with his agenda.
The FCC chairman appointed by Trump has signaled his intention to argue that “The View” does not qualify as a legitimate news program — a determination that could have implications for other programs that mix entertainment with political content.
After ABC’s May filing, the FCC launched a public comment period. ABC noted in Tuesday’s filing that more than 77,000 responses have poured in, with what it described as “an undeniable majority” of commenters siding with the show and with free speech principles.
“The commenters are right to be concerned,” the filing stated. “The First Amendment does not permit the government to sit in an editor’s chair. Yet that is the seat the Commission now proposes to take … deciding which broadcast programs qualify as legitimate news and, for those it finds wanting, compelling them to surrender their airtime to guests they never chose to feature.”
ABC further argued that the core question at stake is “whether a federal regulator may override a broadcaster’s editorial judgment about whom to interview — a judgment the Constitution commits to broadcasters and their audiences, not to the state.”
The network also contended that “nothing about ‘The View’ that the law cares about has changed since the Commission last answered that question more than two decades ago. … What has changed is not the program but the political climate around it.”
ABC additionally accused the FCC under its current chairman of selectively targeting daytime and late-night programs “perceived as unfriendly to the current administration — while leaving untouched the vast landscape of talk radio, where candidates routinely appear without their opponents.” The network called that approach “not evenhanded regulation.”
An FCC spokesperson responded to the filing in an email, suggesting ABC was misleading the public. “While ABC insists that ‘The View’ is a ‘bona fide news program’ under the law,” the spokesperson said, “ABC should focus on complying with its public interest obligations, rather than misleading the public about them.”
The conflict over “The View” mirrors the administration’s frustration with late-night hosts who regularly criticize Trump, particularly ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel. Both Donald and Melania Trump have publicly called for ABC to terminate Kimmel following a joke in which he described the first lady as having “the glow of an expectant widow.” Kimmel maintained the joke was a lighthearted comment about the age gap between the couple.
