Disney CEO: We Will Stand Up To Carr

Brendan Carr and Mickey

Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro on Friday reaffirmed the company’s firm opposition to the FCC’s investigations into ABC’s broadcast licenses and “The View,” declaring the network will not be dictated to by the regulator.

“Our position on this is clear. We’re very principled on this. We’re going to stand up to what we believe is journalistic integrity. And we’re not going to be told how to run that side of our business,” D’Amaro said in a CNBC interview at Disney’s D23 Expo. 

“Our filings, I think, speak for that. I like what we do. We tell incredible stories. I think we do it well. We do it around the world. And we’re going to stay committed to that.”

ABC has accused the FCC of attempting to punish and censor the network over its journalism in violation of the First Amendment and has sought dismissal of the “untimely and unwarranted” license renewal review. 

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has linked the review to the agency’s probe of Disney’s DEI policies and noted that ABC’s limited coverage of a primetime address by President Donald Trump could also factor in.Final replies in the license renewal proceeding closed Aug. 5, drawing thousands of public comments supporting Disney and ABC. Carr said last month the agency would “look at the record and decide based on the evidence before us what the next step will be,” without setting a timeline.

Separately, D’Amaro addressed Disney’s M&A strategy amid the pending $110 billion Warner Bros. Discovery-Paramount merger and Comcast’s planned spinoff of NBCUniversal. He said he is “not considering” a spinoff of ABC or other entertainment linear networks.

“They’re still spinning off cash for us. The team has done a great job integrating them into our streaming capabilities as well,” he said. “So, I feel good about where we stand on that front.” 

He is also “not interested” in spinning off ESPN, citing its sports rights and strong NBA Finals and NHL Finals ratings. “You can’t help but be jealous” of that portfolio, he noted, adding that more sports will move to Disney+ to boost engagement among casual fans while the company continues prioritizing the highest-quality rights.

D’Amaro declined to comment on whether the Paramount-WBD deal should be approved but observed that rivals are pursuing scale, IP or additional businesses because they “want to look a little bit more like Disney.”