FCC Reviews ABC and NBC Licenses After Refusing Trump Election Speech

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr announced that the network decision to decline airing President Donald Trump's primetime address on election security will be examined as part of ABC's broadcast‑license review and could affect NBC as well. The speech, in which Trump alleged foreign interference and claimed voter‑file theft by China, was not shown on the over‑the‑air signals of ABC or NBC, though both streamed it online. Carr cited a recent congressional letter urging the FCC to assess whether the broadcasters fulfilled their public‑interest obligations. FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez countered that the agency should not dictate editorial choices, emphasizing First Amendment protections and describing the public‑interest standard as a tool to punish disfavoured speech. The dispute highlights tensions between regulatory oversight and editorial independence for major U.S. broadcasters.