> There’s a relatively narrow rule which prohibits fcc licensed stations from knowing broadcasting false information if it has the possibility of creating civil unrest.

Oh wow, I didn't realize Fox News wasn't FCC-licensed.

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flutas 16 hours ago | parent [-]

> fcc licensed stations

Think your local K[3 letter] west of the Mississippi, W[3 letter] east of the Mississippi*.

Not "Showtime" or "HBO" or "Cartoon Network" or "CNN" or "Fox News" or "MSNBC".

That's why the affiliates started pulling it, because their license is what's on the line, not ABC/Disney directly.

*: Except for KDKA, KYW, WFAA, WBAP, WOAI, WDAY, and WNAX.

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aaronharnly 15 hours ago | parent [-]

Well, the subset of stations that pulled the show were the ones owned by a (right-wing) company, Nexstar, that has proposed a merger that is up for FCC review. It wasn’t fear of being punished for allowing a “falsehood” on the air, it was pursuit of favorable treatment from a political appointee.

	▲	flutas 12 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Sinclair (38 stations) also pulled it and they own more than Nexstar (28 stations). FWIW The Hollywood Reporter also is reporting that advertisers started threatening to pull their support as well[0] as several smaller stations. > Meanwhile, the advertiser calls began to roll in and then the big affiliate conglomerates, Nexstar and Sinclair, threatened to preempt the show. The second source says that the blowback was snowballing enough that had ABC not acted, Kimmel’s show would have been dark in a large swath of the country, even beyond the Sinclair and Nexstar territories (including in the Washington, D.C., metro area). [0]: https://archive.is/ADaHT