A new report suggests that the Federal Communications Commission may soon decide that ABC’s daytime program “The View” does not qualify as a “bona fide” news program under federal broadcasting rules. Bloomberg reported that the FCC could make that determination by the end of August. The agency is also reportedly preparing to advance its review […]

A new report suggests that the Federal Communications Commission may soon decide that ABC’s daytime program “The View” does not qualify as a “bona fide” news program under federal broadcasting rules.

Bloomberg reported that the FCC could make that determination by the end of August. The agency is also reportedly preparing to advance its review of several Disney-owned ABC television stations to a formal hearing.

That step would not immediately revoke any station licenses, but it would move the process into a more serious phase. According to Bloomberg, the hearing would bring the stations closer to the point where their licenses could potentially be challenged or revoked. The report relied on unnamed sources familiar with the matter.

The stations under review reportedly include ABC outlets serving New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston, San Francisco, Raleigh-Durham and Fresno, California.

At the center of the dispute is the FCC’s equal-opportunities rule. Under that rule, broadcasters that allow a legally qualified political candidate to appear on air may be required to give opposing candidates a comparable opportunity. Certain programs, including bona fide news interviews and news documentaries, can qualify for exemptions.

The question is whether “The View,” which mixes political discussion, entertainment and celebrity interviews, should receive that exemption.

The controversy reportedly began after the program interviewed James Talarico, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in Texas, in February without offering similar airtime to his opponents. Critics argued that the appearance amounted to favorable treatment of one candidate during an active campaign.

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If the FCC concludes that “The View” is not a bona fide news program, future candidate appearances could trigger equal-time obligations for ABC stations airing the show. That could make political interviews more difficult to schedule and potentially expose the network to complaints from rival campaigns.

Disney is expected to challenge any ruling it believes is unsupported by law or inconsistent with previous FCC decisions.

The broader license review follows complaints from several conservative organizations, including the Media Research Center, America First Legal, the Center for American Rights and the Article III Project. Those groups have accused Disney-owned ABC stations of showing political bias in their programming and news coverage.

Political bias alone is not normally enough to revoke a broadcast license. The FCC does not regulate stations simply because viewers or advocacy groups consider their coverage unfair. However, the agency can investigate whether broadcasters have complied with specific federal rules, including candidate-access and equal-opportunities requirements.

Semafor reported that “The View” appears to have reduced the number of interviews it conducts with active political candidates since the FCC began examining the issue. That change may reflect an effort to avoid further disputes while the agency considers how the program should be classified.

The FCC signaled earlier this year that it planned to take the equal-opportunities rule more seriously. In January, the agency reminded broadcasters that it intended to enforce the requirement under the Communications Act of 1934.

At the time, the FCC said it had not been shown evidence that the interview portions of current late-night or daytime talk shows automatically qualified for the bona fide news exemption.

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FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has argued that television networks have treated the exemption too broadly for years. He said daytime and late-night programs should not be able to present politically motivated content as news simply to avoid equal-time rules.

JUST IN: FCC Chair Brendan Carr tells @bennyjohnson that ABC’s “The View” is under investigation for potential violations against federal broadcast rules over partisan politics and conflicts of interest pic.twitter.com/uM9buRwWGz

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