Story perspectives

FCC Opens Comment Period on The View Exemption Petition

5/24/2026

Summary

Story summary

The Federal Communications Commission opened a comment period on The View’s news-interview exemption after Disney’s ABC and KTRK-TV petitioned.
The petition cites a 2002 FCC ruling granting The View an exemption and likens it to Meet the Press and Face the Nation.
FCC inquiry began after James Talarico appeared on The View on February 2, 2026, and set June 22, 2026 comments and July 6, 2026 replies.
No final determination on the exemption has been scheduled.

History

Historical Context

President Bill Clinton signed the Telecommunications Act of 1996, amending the 1934 Communications Act and empowering the FCC to relax broadcast ownership limits. Within two years the agency approved about 30 station mergers worth roughly $100 billion, shrinking major media owners from fifty in 1983 to ten by 1996. This consolidation underlies the 2026 ABC and KTRK-TV challenge to the interview exemption.

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Story summary

The Federal Communications Commission opened a comment period on The View’s news-interview exemption after Disney’s ABC and KTRK-TV petitioned.
The petition cites a 2002 FCC ruling granting The View an exemption and likens it to Meet the Press and Face the Nation.
FCC inquiry began after James Talarico appeared on The View on February 2, 2026, and set June 22, 2026 comments and July 6, 2026 replies.
No final determination on the exemption has been scheduled.

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