ABC asks FCC to exempt The View from equal-opportunities rules

ABC has turned The View into a test case for how far federal regulators can reach into opinion programming on broadcast television. The company wants the Federal Communications Commission to declare the daytime talk show a bona fide news interview program, exempt from equal-opportunities requirements, after the agency said there is no blanket carveout and that each show must be judged case by case.

The dispute began with a February appearance by James Talarico, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in Texas. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr then said in February that the commission had begun “enforcement proceedings” against ABC’s longtime daytime staple, arguing the show had not shown it qualified as bona fide news. ABC answered with a May 7 petition, filed with KTRK-TV, asking the commission to exempt The View from the rule.

The FCC opened a public comment period on the petition, with comments due June 22 and reply comments due July 6. In its notice, the agency listed the current co-hosts as Joy Behar, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Whoopi Goldberg, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin and Ana Navarro, underscoring that the issue now reaches far beyond one guest booking. The rules at stake apply only to broadcast television stations that use public spectrum, not to cable channels or other distribution platforms.

ABC has argued that the commission’s action is unprecedented and threatens to chill protected speech, while comparing The View to established news interview programs such as Meet the Press and Face the Nation. The company says the show is in Season 29 and has been on the air for nearly 30 years. ABC’s own promotional copy describes it as America’s most-watched daytime talk show and a Daytime Emmy-winning program, language the company is using to bolster its case that the series belongs inside the news exemption.

The broader fight has raised alarms over who gets to police opinion programming on broadcast television. FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez has called the campaign an escalation in an effort to censor and control speech. The dispute is unfolding as the commission also scrutinizes Disney’s ABC-owned stations over DEI practices, and after public pressure from President Donald Trump and Melania Trump over Jimmy Kimmel’s comments, adding to concerns that the regulatory push carries political overtones. ABC escalated its public campaign on June 22, telling viewers to “let the viewers decide” and use their voice before the FCC deadline.