After NPR and PBS defunding, FCC receives call to take away station licenses

"During the Kimmel controversy, Carr said he was trying "to empower local TV stations to serve the needs of the local communities." The FCC subsequently opened a proceeding titled, "Empowering Local Broadcast TV Stations to Meet Their Public Interest Obligations: Exploring Market Dynamics Between National Programmers and Their Affiliates." The FCC invited public comments on whether to adopt regulations "in light of the changes in the broadcast market that have led to anticompetitive leverage and behavior by large networks.""

"The "Empowering Local Broadcast TV Stations" proceeding is the one in which the Center for American Rights submitted its comments. Besides discussing NPR and PBS, the group said that national networks "indoctrinate the American people from their left-wing perspective." "The consistent bias on ABC's The View, for instance, tells women in red states who voted for President Trump that they are responsible for putting in office an autocratic dictator," the Center for American Rights said."

"The CAR complaints were dismissed in January 2025 by then-FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and then revived by Carr after Trump appointed him to the chairmanship. Carr has continued making allegations of news distortion, including when he threatened to revoke licenses from ABC stations that air Jimmy Kimmel's show."

Brendan Carr revived previously dismissed complaints alleging news distortion after his appointment as FCC chair and has repeatedly made similar allegations. He threatened to revoke licenses from ABC stations that air Jimmy Kimmel's show while saying he sought to empower local TV stations to serve community needs. The FCC opened a proceeding titled "Empowering Local Broadcast TV Stations..." and invited public comments on potential regulations to address alleged anticompetitive leverage by large networks. Proposed measures could ban certain contract provisions and strengthen affiliates' rights to reject national programming. The Center for American Rights accused networks of left-wing indoctrination, while the NHMC criticized Carr's actions as risking regulatory attacks on media independence.

Read at Ars Technica