WASHINGTON — Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr has renewed scrutiny of ABC’s daytime program The View, highlighting an ongoing regulatory question over whether the show qualifies for an exemption from federal political “equal time” requirements.
Carr recently shared a montage of political commentary from the program on X as the FCC considers arguments presented by Disney, ABC’s parent company, regarding the show’s status under federal broadcast rules.
According to Carr, Disney has argued that The View should be considered a “bona fide news program.” Such programming can fall under exemptions to the FCC’s equal-time requirements, which generally govern opportunities provided to legally qualified political candidates by broadcasters.
“Disney is arguing to the FCC that its ABC show The View is a ‘bona fide news program,’” Carr wrote.
He said Disney maintains that editorial decisions are based on “newsworthiness” rather than partisan political purposes, and therefore should qualify for the relevant exemption.
Carr emphasized that the commission would consider the available evidence and applicable legal precedents before reaching a decision. No final ruling has been announced, and the FCC has not indicated when its review will conclude.
Debate Over News and Political Commentary
The controversy centers on the distinction between news programming and political commentary. The FCC’s equal-time framework includes exemptions for certain bona fide news programming, interviews, documentaries and on-the-spot coverage of news events.
Carr’s post featured clips of The View hosts discussing elections, Republican politicians and Democratic policies, presenting them as material relevant to the agency’s broader review.
The chairman has also stressed that he does not view the FCC as an agency responsible for policing political viewpoints.
“I don’t view the FCC as the speech police,” Carr said during an interview on POLITICO’s The Conversation podcast.
Instead, he argued that the commission’s role is to administer laws established by Congress while overseeing the regulatory framework governing broadcasters.
Carr has criticized what he described as the FCC’s reduced enforcement of portions of that framework over the past several decades, arguing that the shift has affected both regulatory oversight and the broader media environment.
Decision Still Pending
The review does not represent a final determination against The View or ABC. The FCC must still evaluate the arguments, evidence and applicable precedents before deciding whether the program qualifies for the exemption.
The dispute could ultimately provide greater clarity over how federal regulators distinguish between bona fide news programming and political commentary—and how those distinctions apply to prominent television programs in an increasingly polarized media landscape.
