Ad Disclosure
Action News is Asking for Viewer Support in FCC Battle
Published:
Channel 6 posted this on Twitter:
There’s a corresponding site post that says the following:
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — No one supports your community like 6abc, but the FCC questions that commitment.
Show your support for WPVI-TV. You have until July 29th to tell the FCC to keep WPVI-TV on the air.
For more than 75 years, we have been devoted to your needs by informing and entertaining.
There’s a link and a QR code below the text that takes you to an FCC feedback form where you can submit a comment.
This is all very vague, but the gist is that their broadcasting license is up for renewal. Renewal is something that normally happens on a recurring basis without much fanfare, but Action News is owned by Disney, and back in April the FCC announced that it was seeking an early review of Disney licenses with an investigation into equal time rules and DEI practices. The backdrop, of course, is political, with the Trump administration being at odds with Disney. There’s been a very public butting of heads between the President and Jimmy Kimmel, plus the The View, as you’re probably aware.
Locally, Channel 6 is basically asking viewers for support by filling out the FCC feedback form and saying something to the effect of ‘this is a fair and trustworthy source of local news.’ Something along those lines. But this was a big push across all Disney-owned media outlets, not just Action News. It’s been a comprehensive and coordinated effort to enlist viewers in their battle against Trump’s FCC.
That’s the CliffsNotes. The FCC rarely pulls broadcast licenses, so this will probably amount to nothing, but you never know.
disclaimer: this is not a political post. Crossing Broad is not a partisan entity even though half of the idiot Facebook commenters think we’re MAGA douches and the other half think we’re soy boy libs
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com