ABC late night host Jimmy Kimmel has criticized the Federal Communications Commission after an interview with Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico was kept off the network and instead released on YouTube. The dispute centers on the FCC’s interpretation of federal equal-opportunities rules for political candidates and has renewed concerns about government oversight of broadcast programming.
ABC late night host Jimmy Kimmel has criticized the FCC and the Trump administration after an interview with Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico was not broadcast on ABC, with the interview instead released on YouTube.
Kimmel said on his Wednesday night program that the decision followed concerns over the FCC’s rules governing appearances by political candidates. He argued that late-night programs had historically been able to interview candidates without being subjected to the same requirements.
The dispute involves the FCC’s interpretation of the federal equal-opportunities requirement, commonly referred to as the equal-time rule. Under Section 315 of the Communications Act, when a broadcast station permits a legally qualified candidate to use its facilities, it generally must provide equal opportunities to other legally qualified candidates for the same office, subject to statutory exemptions.
In January, the Republican led FCC issued guidance stating that certain daytime and late-night talk shows could fall under the equal-opportunities requirement and would not automatically qualify for the longstanding bona fide news exemption. The agency said the guidance was intended to clarify how the rules apply to broadcast programming.
Talarico is running for the U.S. Senate in Texas against Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton. The race is being closely watched as Democrats seek to compete in a state where Republicans have dominated statewide elections.
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Kimmel said the FCC had effectively threatened his program, ABC and the network's local affiliates over the decision to interview Talarico. ABC declined to comment, while the FCC did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.
FCC Democratic Commissioner Anna Gomez criticized the agency's approach, saying the FCC does not have lawful authority to threaten broadcast licenses over editorial decisions or guest bookings.
The dispute comes amid a broader confrontation between the FCC and Disney owned ABC. In August, ABC sued the commission over its decision to conduct an early review of the licenses of eight ABC-owned stations. The reviews were ordered years before the stations' licenses were scheduled for renewal, according to Reuters.
The Talarico controversy also follows a similar decision involving former CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert, whose interview with the candidate was released online rather than broadcast in February amid concerns over the FCC's equal-time requirements.
The dispute has placed the application of decades-old broadcast rules under renewed scrutiny as regulators, broadcasters and political candidates debate how the requirements should apply to modern television programming.
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