ABC7, aka KGO-TV, pleads for help in its battle to stay on the air

Could a Bay Area TV station wind up a casualty of President Donald Trump’s latest skirmish with the news media?

TV station ABC7 — part of the ABC network, a station which officially goes by the call sign KGO-TV — has launched a campaign asking viewers and other interested parties to contact the FCC and express their support for the station. Several other ABC affiliates, as well as the network itself, are likewise asking viewers to express their support.

This comes in the wake of the Trump-controlled Federal Communications Commission reviewing the broadcast licenses for several stations, including KGO, owned by ABC’s parent company Disney. According to CNN and other news outlets, the FCC has ordered Disney to reapply early to renew its station licenses, seen by many as an unusual request. ABC’s call for viewer support comes during the public comment period of the license review.

The process is part of the formal FCC assessment of whether a station or network using the publicly owned airwaves is serving the public interest. It can lead to renewal or revocation of a station’s broadcast license. Reports say ABC is expecting Trump supporters to flood the FCC with complaints about the network and its affiliates in an attempt to put its renewal in jeopardy.

“ABC7 has proudly served the Bay Area for more than 75 years,” reads the station’s appeal to viewers, which was posted on abc7news.com on Monday. “Now the FCC is questioning our commitment to viewers by threatening to take us off the air.”

ABC7 officials are urging viewers and other concerned parties to act quickly to show their support for the station.

“No one supports your community like Channel 7. But the FCC questions that commitment,” continues the post on the website. “Show your support for KGO-TV. You have until July 29th to tell the FCC to keep KGO-TV on the air.”

Anyone who wishes to contact the FCC about KGO-TV can visit www.fcc.gov/ecfs/filings/standard. From there, enter 26-131 in the proceedings window/box (which is the first one shown on the page) and that should automatically call up the case of the early renewal filings for Disney’s ABC stations. (Or if you are reading this online, that link should automatically populate the proceedings window with the right number.)

The appeal from KGO-TV comes in the wake of the news that the Trump administration and the FCC are investigating ABC’s popular “The View” over allegations that the long-running daytime talk show doesn’t provide equal treatment of differing political parties and candidates.

At the center of this FCC probe is the 90-plus-year-old Communications Act of 1934, which calls for television networks to give equal amounts of time to all candidates on the ballot — no matter what political party they are aligned with.

“The View” hosts — including Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar and former Trump administration adviser Alyssa Farah Griffin — are known for being quite critical of President Trump.

Still, ABC has pushed back against the call to hold “The View” accountable to the “equal time” rule and instead accused Trump’s administration of trying to use the issue to squash free speech with its actions against the show.

“The Commission’s actions threaten to upend decades of settled law and practice and chill critical protected speech, both with respect to ‘The View’ and more broadly,” reads ABC’s filing to the FCC.

Trump also pushed hard for ABC’s late-night comedy host, Jimmy Kimmel, to be taken off the air permanently in 2025 after the host made a joke about the murder of right-wing podcaster Charlie Kirk. Trump’s wife, Melania, also criticized the host earlier this year after he made a joke about her.

Reports say the Trump administration has also maintained that the issued is tied to the FCC’s investigation into DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) measures instituted by ABC. Trump was also sharply critical of ABC News on Monday for its reporting on algae problems plaguing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C.

Overall, Trump has had a contentious relationship with many media companies, including ABC. His 2024 lawsuit against ABC over its reporting on E. Jean Carroll, a reporter who accused Trump of sexual assault, resulted in a $15 million settlement paid by the network.

The New York Daily News and Associated Press contributed to this report.