Disney’s ABC renews its early FCC broadcast licenses.

Disney The Federal Communications Commission responded Thursday as part of the early renewal process for broadcast licenses for eight of the company’s stations.

Disney said in its filings that it was filing the requests “under protest in response to an unlawful, arbitrary, and unconstitutional order” from the FCC.

In late April, the FCC said it would launch an early review of Disney-owned ABC stations years ahead of schedule in the wake of concerns about the company’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. The licenses for the eight stations were originally scheduled to be renewed between 2028 and 2031.

Last year, the FCC, the federal entity that regulates the media and communications industry, began an investigation into DEI efforts by Disney and other media companies.

The agency said it began investigating Disney last March over possible violations of the Communications Act of 1934 and Federal Communications Commission rules regarding its prohibition of unlawful discrimination.

In April, the FCC said it had determined that further action was needed. Disney had until Thursday to submit renewals.

In an interview Friday on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street,” FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said the agency’s focus remains on its investigation into Disney’s DEI practices and that the license renewal deadline delay is not related to First Amendment issues.

“I understand that Disney wants to talk about a lot of other things, and their PR machine has been in high gear, but we’ve been very clear about what this is: concerns about abhorrent forms of DEI discrimination,” Carr told CNBC.

He added that the next step, on Friday, will be for the FCC to issue a public notice and begin a session where the public can file a petition to deny renewal of Disney’s licenses, opening the door for Disney to file an opposition.

“We had long indicated that we wanted Disney to take our investigation seriously, and it was only after we felt — again, we’ve given them notice now that we believed their responses were deceptive, that they were incomplete, that they had not responded honestly to a number of questions — that we thought it was important to take this next step in our investigation to ensure that they were fully responding to our procedures,” Carr said.

When asked if he thought there was a possibility that the FCC would actually pull ABC’s licenses, Carr said the agency would “follow the facts and the law wherever they go.”

The FCC’s early review came shortly after ABC faced renewed political backlash from President Donald Trump following comments made by comedian Jimmy Kimmel during his late-night television show on the broadcast network.

The timing raised eyebrows from critics of the Trump administration — as well as from the current FCC commissioner — who said the audit was politically motivated.

In a filing Thursday, Disney said it objected to the process and added that the FCC had not called for an early renewal in more than five decades.

“The order has no legitimate purpose,” Disney said in the filing. “There is no information that the request would disclose that the committee could not obtain through other means. The order is inconsistent with the legitimate exercise of investigative power and is clearly inconsistent with the First Amendment.”