The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) issued guidance signaling its intent to change its interpretation of the “equal opportunities” (or “equal time”) rules for candidate appearances on TV. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said the new guidance “reminded” TV networks that late night and daytime talk shows that are “motivated by purely partisan political purposes” will require TV stations to provide “equal opportunities” to all candidates.
In practice, this guidance attempts to pressure stations to count candidates’ interviews on talk shows towards the amount of airtime the station must provide to their opponents. This is consistent with the Trump administration’s ongoing pattern of weaponizing the federal government against its critics, and it is significant because it is aimed at talk shows that have featured long interviews with Democratic candidates, which would either force those shows to invite the candidate’s opponents for a similar amount of time or would force stations to provide those opponents with comparable airtime as the talk show interviews.
We recommend that campaigns carefully monitor their opponents’ appearances on broadcast television and radio for instances that may entitle candidates to equal opportunities under the FCC’s new guidance. And we encourage clients to contact their legal counsel if any issues arise in connection with TV appearances in light of this new guidance.
The FCC’s “Equal Time” Rule
Under federal law, a television station that permits one legally qualified candidate to use its airwaves generally must provide “equal opportunities” for that candidate’s opponents to do so as well. [1] The equal time rule contains certain exceptions. For example, an appearance by a candidate in a “bona fide news interview” does not trigger the “equal opportunity” requirement. The FCC has developed criteria for determining whether a program falls into this exception, including whether the program is regularly scheduled, whether producers independently control aspects of the program like format and content, and whether content decisions are based on an independent judgment of newsworthiness and not by partisan purposes.
In 2006, the FCC analyzed whether the exception for a bona fide news interview program applied to The Tonight Show with Jay Leno’s segment involving Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was then a Republican candidate for governor of California. The FCC concluded, in accord with precedent, that the interview portions of the program met the legal criteria for the bona fide news interview exception. In the nearly two decades since that decision, broadcasters have relied on its reasoning and have understood it to represent the consistent view of the FCC.
The FCC’s New Guidance
On January 21, 2026, the FCC issued a public notice labeled “FCC’s Media Bureau Provides Guidance on Political Equal Opportunities Requirement for Broadcast Television Stations.” The public notice “emphasizes” that TV stations’ programming “motivated by partisan purposes” must comply with equal opportunities rules.
The guidance describes the history of the FCC’s equal opportunity requirement, putting particular stress on what it describes as congressional concern regarding the limits of the “bona fide” news exceptions. While the FCC’s guidance acknowledges the 2006 decision, it notes that it was a “staff-level” decision and describes its conclusion as contrary to an earlier decision, attempting to minimize its importance.
The guidance then states that the 2006 decision does not mean that interview portions of entertainment programs are automatically exempt under a bona fide news exemption. Moreover, the guidance ensures that no current TV program can feel safe by observing that the FCC “has not been presented with any evidence that the interview portion of any late night or daytime television talk show program on air presently would qualify for the bona fidenews exemption.” The FCC encourages TV stations to subject themselves to FCC review by “promptly fil[ing] a petition for declaratory ruling” if they would like assurance that the bona fide news exemption applies to their activities.
The guidance also implicitly threatens station licenses, noting that broadcast stations are required to place a notice in their public “political file” when “free time is provided for use by or on behalf of candidates” and that adherence to political file requirements “is central to a broadcast licensee’s obligation to operate in the public interest.”
What This Means
This new FCC guidance signals further weaponization of the federal government by the Trump administration. Although framed as restating existing law, the guidance sends a clear message that the FCC may reverse decades of precedent, forcing talk shows to reconsider whether any interviews they conduct with candidates will trigger equal opportunity requirements.
Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez issued a statement calling the new guidance a “misleading announcement.” Commissioner Gomez explained that “[n]othing has fundamentally changed with respect to our political broadcasting rules” and that the FCC has not altered the “long-standing news exemption or equal time framework.” She noted that the new guidance “does not change the law, but it does represent an escalation in this FCC’s ongoing campaign to censor and control speech.” Commissioner Gomez explained, “[b]roadcast stations have a constitutional right to carry newsworthy content, even when that content is critical of those in power. 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.”
Campaigns should closely monitor their opponents’ appearances on broadcast television and radio in case such appearances trigger the equal time rule under the FCC’s new guidance. Although radio is not specifically addressed in the FCC’s guidance, the equal opportunities rule applies to radio stations as well as TV stations. Therefore, candidates whose opponents appear on radio programs that appear to be “motivated by partisan purposes” may be entitled to demand equal opportunity to use the station’s airwaves.
Please contact your ELG attorney for further guidance.
[1] This is called the “equal time” rule, although identical airtime is not the requirement, and the law refers to “equal opportunities.” The law does not govern cable channels. FCC regulations define when a person is a “legally qualified candidate.”