ABC’s decision has prompted accusations of censorship by the Trump Administration after it appeared influenced by FCC Chair Brendan Carr, who stated that “licensed broadcasters” should “push back” and refuse to air Kimmel’s show to avoid “the possibility of fines or license revocations from the FCC.”
Democratic lawmakers have criticized the Trump Administration’s apparent pressuring of ABC, urging measures to strengthen free speech protections.
But the Administration only appears more emboldened to pursue what experts have described as a campaign against the media, and Carr may already have identified his next target.
President Donald Trump suggested on Thursday that his Administration could punish TV networks for giving him “bad press,” following weeks of calling for ABC and NBC News’ broadcasting licenses to be revoked—though he lacks the direct authority to do so.
But Carr suggested a more technical approach to address Trump’s media annoyances, saying in a Thursday episode of The Scott Jennings Podcast that the commission may review whether ABC’s The View should be subject to what’s known as the equal time rule.
“I think it’s worthwhile to have the FCC look into whether The View, and some of these other programs that you have, still qualify as bona fide news programs and therefore exempt from the equal opportunity regime that Congress has put in place,” Carr said.
Carr’s comments come amid calls from Republicans and far-right activists for a purge of media they dislike and as individuals across the country have been arrested over social media posts related to Kirk. Jennings had questioned Carr about other ABC programs that “run afoul” of the public interest standard, a legal standard requiring broadcasters to serve the “public interest, convenience, and necessity,” specifically citing The View.
“A lot of people think there are other shows on ABC that maybe run afoul of this more than Jimmy Kimmel, I’m thinking specifically of The View,” Jennings asked. “Are they doing what Kimmel did Monday night and is it even worse on those programs?”
The View hosts expressed outrage over Kimmel’s suspension on Thursday and had previously condemned Trump’s rhetoric and political violence more broadly.
Earlier this year, the White House indicated that The View was next in line to be canceled after CBS’s The Talk, after The View co-host Joy Behar criticized Donald Trump. Behar referenced the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection on the U.S. Capitol and suggested that Trump was jealous of Obama. At the time, the panelists also dismissed the White House’s threat against the show.
What is the ‘equal time’ rule?
The equal time or equal opportunity rule is a federal rule under the Communications Act that requires broadcasters to give political candidates equal time or opportunity as each other. For example, radio or television stations that sell air time to one candidate must offer to sell the same amount of time to every other candidate running for that office.
In 1959, Congress amended the act to exempt bona fide newscasts, news interviews, documentaries, and on-the-spot coverage of a news event. In 1960, Congress further adjusted the equal time rule to allow for coverage of the Kennedy-Nixon presidential debates, which were not recognized by the FCC at the time as meeting one of the four exemptions. In 1975, the FCC clarified that debates were included as on-the-spot coverage of a news event, which was later upheld by the Supreme Court that broadcasters need not give candidates equal air time in a debate.
The FCC does have the power, under the Communications Act, to revoke a broadcaster’s license for “willful or repeated failure” to abide by the equal time rule. But the FCC has also over time provided more exemptions to news entertainment programs that include segments, interviews, or discussions considered bona fide news. In 1987, the FCC also repealed the Fairness Doctrine, which required broadcasters to provide differing viewpoints when covering issues of public importance.
“Over the years the FCC has developed a body of case law that has suggested that mostly late-night shows … are bona fide news programs,” Carr said. “And so potentially I would assume you could make the argument that The View is a bona fide news show, but I’m not so sure about that.”
Carr criticized NBC’s Saturday Night Live last year for featuring then-Vice President Kamala Harris before the 2024 election, noting it did not offer comparable airtime to give Trump airtime to directly address voters after a Nascar race.
NBC was also compelled to provide airtime after Trump hosted SNL in 2015. If the FCC considers The View no longer exempt from the equal time rule, it could have a wider impact on talk shows on both TV and radio more broadly, potentially affecting a forum that in actuality has offered balanced political coverage.
