Kimmel Pulls Talarico Interview Off ABC Over FCC Equal Time Fears: What It Means for Local Stations

Jimmy Kimmel sat down with Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico, then made the call not to air the interview on ABC. His explanation was straightforward: he believes the FCC’s equal time rule would have forced him to give the same airtime to every candidate on the ballot who asked for it. Instead, the interview went up on YouTube, where it drew 3.6 million views in 16 hours. For comparison, Kimmel’s regular broadcast audience sits around 1.5 million.

The equal time rule itself is nothing new. What’s new is a January FCC directive stating that broadcasts motivated by partisan purposes don’t qualify for an exemption. That directive is why this is the second time Talarico has been bumped from a late-night show. He was also cut from Stephen Colbert’s CBS show back in February. The White House disputes Kimmel’s version of events, saying FCC Chairman Brendan Carr never threatened him over the interview, and a spokesperson described Kimmel’s comments as play-acting.

For rural and suburban listeners, the real question isn’t about Kimmel at all. It’s about what happens to the small local stations that would have to juggle equal time requests from every candidate on the ballot if a single interview airs. Those stations don’t have a legal department on standby. So what do you think: should the equal time rule still apply the same way in a world where anyone can post an interview online?