President-elect Donald Trump’s pick as the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, is expressing concerns about Disney-owned ABC’s negotiations with local broadcast stations in a letter to Disney CEO Bob Iger.
Carr highlighted issues that could impact local broadcasters and their audiences.
The letter, posted on X by Chief Media Analyst Brian Stelter, refers to the ongoing affiliate agreement discussions between ABC and its local stations and suggests that ABC may be seeking what Carr calls “substantial financial and operational” concessions from stations under the threat of ending what is known to be long-standing affiliations.
These actions could lead, Carr warns, to service blackouts, adversely affecting local viewers.
“The approach that ABC is apparently taking in these negotiations concerns me,” Carr wrote. “My understanding is that ABC is attempting to extract onerous financial and operational concessions from local broadcast TV stations under the threat of terminating long-held affiliations, which could result in blackouts and other harms to local consumers of broadcast news and content.”
The letter follows a recent settlement, also mentioned by Carr in the letter, between ABC News and President-elect Trump. ABC agreed to pay a $15 million settlement to Trump’s future presidential foundation and museum and an additional $1 million in attorney fees to settle a defamation case.
Trump had sued the network alongside anchor George Stephanopoulos after Stephanopoulos repeatedly said during an interview that a jury found Trump “liable for rape.”
The settlement required a note attached to the above-mentioned article that reads, “ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements regarding President Donald J. Trump made during an interview by George Stephanopoulos with Rep. Nancy Mace on ABC’s This Week on March 10, 2024.”
Carr cited the settlement as an example that contributes to the lack of trust in national media by Americans.
“A large majority of Americans say that local journalists in their area are mostly in touch with their community and are doing well in key roles, including reporting on the news accurately, covering the most important stories, and being transparent,” Carr said in the letter.
Carr emphasized the importance of local news outlets, noting that Americans generally hold favorable views of the local media compared to the national networks.
The letter also expressed concern about Disney’s focus on distributing its national content to direct-to-consumer subscription streaming services like Disney+ and Hulu, which might undermine Americans’ local, freely accessible stations.
The letter stated that the affiliate agreements would expire by the end of the year unless ABC and the local broadcast TV stations could reach a new agreement.
