WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission said Wednesday that daytime and late-night TV talk shows featuring interviews with political candidates must comply with “equal time” rules that give airtime to views of opposing candidates and that the shows cannot rely on a 2006 decision that suggested they were exempt.
Until now, talk shows have qualified for the equal opportunities exemption as genuine news interviews, ever since the FCC’s Media Bureau granted an exemption to the interview part of Jay Leno’s “Tonight Show” in 2006. Networks have relied on the ruling as a precedent for recent interviews with political candidates.
The FCC’s Media Bureau said Wednesday, however, that networks should not rely on the 2006 decision, adding that it “has not been presented with any evidence that the interview portion of any late night or daytime television talk show program on air presently would qualify” for an exemption.
The agency added that any program or station seeking assurances that the equal time requirements do not apply should “promptly file a petition for a declaratory ruling.”
Democratic FCC member Anna Gomez said the guidance was at odds with the commission’s long-standing view that late-night programs and daytime news shows are entitled to editorial discretion based on newsworthiness, not political favoritism. She said the announcement was “an escalation in this FCC’s ongoing campaign to censor and control speech. ... The First Amendment does not yield to government intimidation. Broadcasters should not feel pressured to water down, sanitize or avoid critical coverage out of fear of regulatory retaliation.”
President Donald Trump posted a link late Wednesday to a news story about the issue that said the FCC was taking aim at the ABC daytime talk show “The View” and the ABC late-night talk show “Jimmy Kimmel Live” over equal time rules for politicians.
Trump has repeatedly pushed FCC Chair Brendan Carr to take action against U.S. broadcasters. Trump has criticized news coverage and said he will have a role in whether a proposed merger between Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery should go forward.
In September, Carr said the FCC should consider reviewing whether “The View” runs afoul of equal time commission rules when it covers rival political candidates. Carr faced bipartisan criticism after he pressured broadcasters to take Kimmel’s show off the air in September.
The rules do not apply to so-called bona fide news programs and are typically in effect 90 days before a political candidate’s nomination by convention or caucus.
“For years, legacy TV networks assumed that their late-night and daytime talk shows qualify as ‘bona fide news’ programs — even when motivated by purely partisan political purposes,” Carr said. “Today, the FCC reminded them of their obligation to provide all candidates with equal opportunities.”
The major broadcast networks — NBC, CBS, ABC and Fox — did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Trump criticized an ABC News correspondent last month for asking Saudi Arabia’s crown prince about the 2018 killing of a Washington Post columnist and suggested the FCC should move to revoke the broadcast licenses of Walt Disney-owned ABC stations.
In July, the FCC approved the $8.4 billion merger between CBS parent Paramount Global and Skydance Media after Skydance agreed to ensure CBS’ news and entertainment programs were free of bias and to hire an ombudsman to review complaints and end diversity programs.
Carr in January 2025 reinstated a complaint against Comcast-owned NBCUniversal, the parent company of NBC News, for letting then-Vice President Kamala Harris appear on “Saturday Night Live” just before the November 2024 election.
