Disney faces early setback as judge rejects expedited FCC hearing request

MUMBAI: Disney’s latest legal tussle with the US broadcast regulator has hit a commercial break. A US federal judge has rejected the media giant’s request for an expedited hearing in its lawsuit against the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), dealing an early setback to its bid to halt an early review of licences held by its eight company-owned ABC television stations.

US District Judge Loren AliKhan declined Disney’s request for an emergency hearing next week on its application for a temporary restraining order against the FCC. The ruling came after the US Justice Department argued that there was no need to fast-track the case.

The judge has instead directed both sides to submit legal filings by 24 September, with a hearing scheduled for early October. She also said that if the FCC proceeds with a formal hearing order concerning the licences, both sides would have to appear in court the following day to argue over possible emergency relief.

The dispute stems from a lawsuit filed by Disney and ABC earlier this week seeking to block the FCC’s early review of the broadcasters’ licences. Disney has alleged that the regulator is attempting to retaliate against ABC over programming and editorial decisions that have drawn criticism from US President Donald Trump.

In its court filing, Disney described the FCC’s actions as an “extraordinary assault on free speech”, alleging that regulators were attempting to pressure a network that had refused to align with demands from the administration.

The FCC has pushed back against the allegations. An agency spokesperson welcomed the latest ruling, saying the court had rejected Disney’s attempt to rush the proceedings and had declined to provide immediate relief. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has previously called Disney’s lawsuit meritless and said no final decision has been made on whether the ABC station licences will be referred for a formal hearing.

At the centre of the dispute is an unusual FCC move announced in April to conduct an early review of ABC station licences, despite their renewals not being due until 2028. According to Reuters, the FCC had not initiated a comparable early-review process in more than 50 years.

The legal battle has now become a broader test of the relationship between government oversight and media freedom, while adding another chapter to the long-running tensions between Trump and Disney-owned ABC over the network’s news coverage and programming decisions.