Late-night TV may have just been pulled into a campaigning fight. The Federal Communications Commission, led by Trump appointee Brendan Carr, issued new guidance Wednesday saying that entertainment-themed talk shows on broadcast stations must offer "equal opportunities" to rivals if they host a political candidate, reviving rules that had largely gone dormant, per the New York Times. The move is seen as targeting late-night fixtures like Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, and Seth Meyers, as well as daytime programs such as ABC's The View, all frequent critics of President Trump.
For years, networks assumed candidate interviews on late night and similar shows were exempt from equal-time rules under a broad "bona fide news" category, reinforced by a 2006 FCC decision covering Jay Leno's former late-night program. Carr now rejects that assumption, arguing on X that legacy networks have treated partisan programming as news, and that the FCC has just "reminded" them of their legal obligations. Under the new approach, shows that want candidates on during an election year must either seek an exemption from the FCC—which the agency says it will grant sparingly, based on whether a program appears motivated "by partisan purposes"—or provide comparable free airtime to opponents.
The shift follows long-standing complaints from conservatives that late-night lineups skew left. The Center for American Rights, a conservative group that has filed FCC complaints over perceived bias, praised the announcement. Its president, Daniel Suhr, said the move should halt "one-sided left-wing entertainment shows masquerading as 'bona fide news.'" Media analysts say the new rules could make it easier for such groups to file formal challenges against both late-night programs and shows like The View.
Inside the FCC, the policy is already drawing fire. The commission's sole Democrat, Anna Gomez, called the guidance "an escalation in this FCC's ongoing campaign to censor and control speech" and warned that broadcasters may dilute or avoid critical coverage to sidestep regulatory risk. Public interest attorney Andrew Jay Schwartzman said the apparent goal is to "trim the sails of certain talk shows" and chill bookings of political guests. He noted, however, that the rule could boomerang by forcing conservative radio hosts, who are covered by the same statute, to also consider equal-time obligations. President Trump, meanwhile, weighed in on Truth Social, sharing a Los Angeles Times news article about the FCC's move, per Politico.
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