Fcc Warns Late-night, Daytime Tv To Give Both Parties Equal Time

President Donald Trump’s top television regulator warned late-night and daytime hosts that they need to give political candidates equal time when booking guests — a move that brought renewed objections that the administration is treading on free speech.

Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr issued regulatory guidance Wednesday directing broadcasters to provide political candidates with equal time on morning and late-night shows, specifically dinging programs “motivated by partisan purposes.”

Carr singled out “The View” last fall as a particular concern when teasing such a requirement. His comments followed high-profile threats to broadcasters airing Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show on ABC. On the eve of the 2024 election, Carr also criticized “Saturday Night Live” for alleged evasion of the equal time rule when it featured then-Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris — prompting NBC to give Trump air time on NASCAR and NFL events.

“For years, legacy TV networks assumed that their late night & daytime talk shows qualify as ‘bona fide news’ programs — even when motivated by purely partisan political purposes,” Carr wrote in an X post Wednesday. “Today, the FCC reminded them of their obligation to provide all candidates with equal opportunities.”

Daniel Suhr, a conservative lawyer who heads the Center for American Rights and has been largely aligned with Carr’s agenda, cheered the move and suggested it could affect hosts such as Stephen Colbert and Kimmel.

“Daytime TV like @TheView and late night shows like @JimmyKimmelLive & @ColbertShow have consistently featured only Democratic candidates while shutting out Republicans,” Suhr wrote on X. “This @FCC notice is an important step toward accountability for these legacy network shows.”

Anna Gomez, the FCC’s lone Democratic commissioner and an ardent critic of Carr’s media moves, called Wednesday’s guidance misleading and said it marks “an escalation in this FCC’s ongoing campaign to censor and control speech.”

“Broadcast stations have a constitutional right to carry newsworthy content, even when that content is critical of those in power,” she said. “That does not change today, it will not change tomorrow, and it will not change simply because of this Administration’s desire to silence its critics.”