Jimmy Kimmel Moves Texas Senate Candidate Interview to YouTube as FCC Tightens Equal-Time Rule
Updated
Updated · Business Insider · Sep 10
Jimmy Kimmel Moves Texas Senate Candidate Interview to YouTube as FCC Tightens Equal-Time Rule
3 articles · Updated · Business Insider · Sep 10
Summary
James Talarico’s interview on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” will skip broadcast TV and run on YouTube instead, after Kimmel said the FCC threatened his show, ABC and local affiliates over guest-booking decisions.
January guidance from Trump’s FCC sharpened its equal-time stance, warning that legal candidates should not get less access than opponents and signaling late-night and daytime talk shows may not qualify for news-program exemptions.
ABC is already under pressure: the FCC is investigating whether “The View” is a bona fide news program, and Stephen Colbert said CBS earlier pulled a Talarico interview over the same rule.
The dispute extends a yearlong clash between Kimmel and Trump’s FCC, which previously drew scrutiny over his comments on Charlie Kirk and Melania Trump; Disney sued the agency in August, alleging First Amendment retaliation.