Philadelphia’s 6abc calls upon viewers to support station amid FCC’s early license review

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Philadelphia television station WPVI-TV, 6abc, is urging viewers to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission claiming the agency is “threatening” to take the station off the air.

“Use your voice and tell the FCC that Philly deserves to keep its trusted local station WPVI,” a message disseminated Monday by the station read. “You have until July 29th.”

The station did not immediately respond Tuesday to requests for comment. A link in the web posting from 6abc, a WHYY News content partner, takes visitors to an FCC comment form for an ongoing proceeding involving ABC’s eight owned-and-operated stations, which includes 6abc in Philadelphia.

Each of those stations made similar posts about the FCC. The FCC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

What is happening between the FCC and ABC?

Created in 1934, the FCC is an agency that regulates communications across the United States. The FCC began an early review of ABC stations’ licenses in April, citing an ongoing investigation into whether the network “engaged in prohibited practices by hiring, promoting, compensating, and/or providing workplace opportunities to people based on race, gender, or other protected characteristics in violation of federal nondiscrimination laws.”

The agency’s announcement came just after President Donald Trump urged ABC to fire Jimmy Kimmel in a post on Truth Social following a joke from the late-night talk show host about first lady Melania Trump.

However, Anna M. Gomez, the lone Democrat on the FCC, wrote a letter in May to Disney, the parent company of ABC, alleging that it is the target of a “sustained, coordinated campaign of censorship and control.”

Meanwhile, ABC’s “The View” has also drawn the ire of the FCC. The agency is investigating the show for possible violations of the “equal time” rule that requires broadcasters to provide equal time to political candidates who appear on the airwaves.

ABC accused the FCC of attempting to “chill critical free speech.”