GoKawiil
Tech News
The FCC has waived its 25 percent cap on foreign equity ownership to approve a deal allowing sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi to collectively hold up to 49.5 percent of the combined Paramount-Warner Bros. entity. The agency argued the stakes carry no voting rights and therefore no control, but critics including Free Press and Commissioner Anna Gomez dispute that reasoning.
Jimmy Kimmel said he removed an interview with Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico from his broadcast after concerns that the FCC, under Brendan Carr, could threaten ABC affiliate licenses over the segment. The interview was reportedly still available in some other format, but not aired on television as originally planned.
Jimmy Kimmel announced his interview with Texas Senate candidate James Talarico, a Democrat, will air only on YouTube rather than broadcast television. Kimmel said the change protects ABC's local affiliate stations, particularly in Texas, from potential FCC license challenges tied to Chairman Brendan Carr's past threats against the network.
Jimmy Kimmel announced his sit-down with Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico will stream only on the Jimmy Kimmel Live YouTube channel rather than air on ABC's broadcast affiliates. He said the shift is meant to shield local stations from further FCC scrutiny amid ongoing regulatory pressure tied to Disney and ABC.
The FCC filed a motion to dismiss Disney's lawsuit, defending its decision to launch an early review of the broadcast licenses held by ABC's eight owned stations. The agency argues the review concerns only alleged discrimination tied to Disney's diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, not Chairman Brendan Carr's public threats over Jimmy Kimmel jokes or The View's political content. Separately, two watchdog groups and individual ABC viewers are seeking to intervene in the case, fearing Disney could strike a settlement with the FCC that doesn't serve the public interest, a motion Disney itself opposes.
The FCC's latest broadband deployment report, released August 14 under Chairman Brendan Carr, eliminates the previous gigabit-speed goal and rephrases its language to describe broadband as merely 'often' essential rather than fully essential to modern life. The report claims 96.9% of Americans now have access to 100Mbps/20Mbps speeds, though these figures rely on self-reported data from internet service providers.