Did the CEO of ABC hint that the network may cancel "The View," saying "It's time to end a show that's lost its relevance"? No, that's not true: The website that originally reported this comes with a satire label. Neither ABC itself nor news websites have published anything about the ABC CEO hinting about a potential cancellation and some of the posts repeating the claim on social media used a picture of the Chairman of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, which does not even broadcast "The View."
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Facebook on September 28, 2024. The text read:
ABC CEO Hints at Potential Cancellation of 'The View': 'It's Time to End a Show That's Lost Its Relevance' Read More Detail in the first comment👇
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Tue Oct 1 21:19:41 2024 UTC)
The post on Facebook cited the "ABC CEO." As of the date of this publication, that's Dana Walden (archived here), according to the corporate site of the Walt Disney Company, which owns ABC Entertainment, ABC News and ABC owned television stations.
But a Google Lens search (archived here) revealed that, to illustrate its claim, the post used an image of the top executive of quite a different ABC -- Kim Williams, chairman of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, also called ABC.
The claim itself has no connection to either ABC.
The link in the comments of the post went to an article on a website (archived here) called News Daily. Like the post, the article's headline declared, "ABC CEO Hints at Potential Cancellation of 'The View': 'It's Time to End a Show That's Lost Its Relevance.'" The website's About Us (archived here) section identified it as a blog about paternity issues:
At our website, we are dedicated to providing accurate and comprehensive information on all matters related to paternity. Whether you're navigating legal questions, seeking advice on fatherhood, or exploring the intricacies of paternity tests, our blog is here to guide you.
The article claimed that CEO Michael Bellaman had called the show "a never-ending circus" while appearing at "a press conference intended to showcase ABC's upcoming programming." But it did not provide a date or a location for this supposed press conference:
During the press conference, Bellaman was blunt in his assessment of The View's current state. 'It's been a long time coming,' he began. 'The audience deserves better. After countless debates, shouting matches, and walk-offs, we've come to realize that The View isn't just a talk show--it's a never-ending circus. And frankly, we've had enough.' His candid remarks sent shockwaves through both the industry and the show's fanbase, raising the big question: Has The View truly lost its relevance?
Using keywords from this article, Lead Stories searched on Google News (archived here) for reports about this supposed press conference and found nothing. We then searched more broadly on Google (archived here) and for any information about ABC's CEO and a cancellation of "The View" talk show. The results only showed a repetition of the claim and a 2023 Reuters fact check of a similar narrative. A search of the ABC website via Google (archived here) also yielded nothing that proved the claim.
The News Daily story resembled one published on September 17, 2024, on the Esspots website (archived here) with the headline, "ABC's CEO Reveals: 'It's Finally Time for Us to Cancel the Worst Show on TV, ABC's 'The View'!'" As this screenshot shows, the article was clearly labeled "SATIRE":
(Source: Esspots website screenshot taken on Tue Oct 1 21:23:21 2024 UTC)
The Esspots website's Disclaimer (archived here) concedes that "nothing on this website is real" and that all its content is "entirely fictitious" and meant for "entertainment only."
Disclaimer
Welcome to Esspots.com, a website that specializes in satire, parody, and humor. Before you proceed to read our content, we would like to emphasize that nothing on this website is real. All of the articles, stories, and commentary found on Esspots.com are entirely fictitious and created for the purpose of entertainment only.
In July 2024, Snopes also debunked a claim that ABC planned to cancel "The View."
Other Lead Stories fact checks of claims about "The View" can be found here.
