00:00One of the biggest entertainment companies on Earth is taking the government to court.
00:04Disney says the FCC is trying to yank ABC's TV licenses over one joke.
00:10Here's what's happening.
00:10The FCC is the agency that decides if local stations like ABC's get to keep broadcasting.
00:16Renewals are scheduled out years in advance, and it's usually no big deal.
00:20But not this time.
00:21Reuters reports that back in April, one day after the president urged ABC to fire Jimmy Kimmel,
00:26the FCC ordered ABC's eight stations to renew their licenses early.
00:30They got 30 days to do paperwork that usually takes months.
00:34The FCC's first early review in 50 years.
00:37FCC chairman Brendan Carr says it's all tied to a year-long investigation
00:41into whether Disney's DEI policies broke the law.
00:44Not everyone buys that.
00:45A bipartisan group of former FCC officials pushed back, calling it a threat to free speech.
00:50Disney takes it further, accusing the FCC of waging a retaliatory campaign against ABC,
00:55just because it doesn't like what the network airs.
00:58Days before the lawsuit, CEO Josh DeMauro told CNBC,
01:01we're not going to be told how to run that side of our business.
01:05As of this recording, August 18th, the FCC has not responded, and no judge has ruled just yet.
01:10But what do you think?
01:11Is the FCC protecting the airwaves, or using it as a weapon against a network that the president doesn't like?
01:17Drop your take in the comments.
