Kimmel routes a Texas Senate candidate's interview to YouTube after FCC guidance on equal-time rule
Guidance issued in January told broadcasters that late-night and daytime talk shows are not necessarily exempt from equal time, and since then two networks have kept the same Senate candidate off air.
The Board Room · Leadership desk
What happened
- Jimmy Kimmel said on Wednesday that his interview with James Talarico, a Texas state representative running for the US Senate, will not air on broadcast television and will go to YouTube instead.
- FCC guidance issued in January said no legal candidate should be unfairly given less access to the airwaves than an opponent, and that late-night and daytime talk shows are not necessarily exempt.
- The FCC is separately investigating whether ABC's "The View" is a bona fide news program, after Chairman Brendan Carr said such shows give Democrats more airtime than Republicans.
- Disney sued the FCC in August, with ABC's complaint alleging a retaliatory campaign waged because the agency disapproves of what the network broadcasts.
Why it matters
- What it limits constraint With the exemption left to case-by-case resolution, a routine booking now needs a legal read before taping, and the review happens inside the company where no viewer can see it.
- What's now possible capability Owned digital distribution gives a host a way to keep a candidate interview alive without incurring the comparable-opportunity duty, paid for in lost broadcast reach and affiliate carriage.
- Who's exposed exposure The licenses Carr pointed at belong to local station owners rather than to Disney, so the parties with the least editorial control over late-night bookings hold the asset at risk.
- What doesn't add up contradiction Kimmel casts the pressure as retaliation over disliked guests while the FCC's public account of the Disney fight rests on a DEI discrimination inquiry, so the two sides do not agree on what is being enforced.
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The rule as the FCC describes it does not bar a candidate from a talk show. It obliges the broadcaster that gives time to one candidate to offer comparable opportunities to the opponents, with exceptions including bona fide news programs [5]. So the question a booking has to clear before taping is not whether the segment is fair but whether the show sits inside that exemption, and the January guidance says late-night and daytime talk shows are not necessarily exempt [6]. "Not necessarily" is where the cost lives: no bright line, and the question settled case by case, which is what the investigation into whether "The View" is a bona fide news program looks like in practice [15][20].
Because the duty runs to broadcasters [5], a YouTube posting is a workaround at all [19]. What it buys is narrow. It removes the comparable-opportunity trigger for one segment while giving up the broadcast audience and the affiliate carriage, and it does nothing about the other exposure, since the FCC's early review of ABC's licenses was tied to Disney's DEI policies rather than to any guest [11], and the agency's public account of the Disney litigation still rests on the DEI proceeding [14].
The more consequential change is where the decision now gets made. Stephen Colbert said his bosses pulled his own Talarico interview earlier this year over equal-time concerns [7], which means two broadcast networks have now kept interviews with the same Senate candidate off air [17]. Of Kimmel's three high-profile clashes with this FCC in 12 months, two turned on remarks he made on air and this one turns on whom he booked [18]. A remark can only be punished after broadcast; a booking can be reviewed before it, quietly, by people who do not appear on screen.
A skeptic would say the interview exists, anyone can watch it, and nothing was suppressed. That holds on availability and fails on decision rights. Kimmel said the FCC has threatened him, his show, ABC, its affiliates and its local stations over "guest bookings it would seem they don't like" [2]; the FCC did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment [4], and the record does not tie any specific threat to the Talarico segment or say who at ABC made the call. What the record does show is one host describing management pulling a booking [7] and another describing YouTube as "the best that we can do" [3].
That phrase came with a date attached, and the date is the part worth separating from the rest. The equal-time trigger is a live candidacy, so the constraint on airing Talarico lapses with the November election, while the January guidance, the bona fide news question, the license reviews and Disney's First Amendment suit filed in August do not expire on that schedule [13][21]. Broadcast leaders get relief on this candidate by the autumn. The durable consequence is that guest selection has become a matter for counsel, and counsel will still be in the room in December.
What to watch
- Whether the FCC rules on the bona fide news status of "The View", which would give talk shows the bright line the January guidance withheld.
- Whether Disney's First Amendment suit survives an early motion, and whether the FCC's early review of ABC's licenses advances before November.
- Whether other broadcasters move candidate interviews to owned digital channels between now and the election, or simply stop booking candidates.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence70
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+20
- Incentives65
- Confidence65
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
Jimmy Kimmel said on Wednesday that his interview with James Talarico, a Democrat in the Texas House of Representatives running for a US Senate seat, will not air on broadcast television and is instead headed to YouTube.
- [2]
Kimmel said Trump's "FCC has threatened me, threatened our show, threatened our network, ABC, our affiliates, our local stations" based on "simple, traditional editorial decisions, guest bookings it would seem they don't like."
- [3]
Kimmel said of the YouTube route: "In the America we live in right now, that is the best that we can do", referring to the period until November.
- [4]
The FCC did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
- [5]
The equal-time rule says broadcasters should give politicians running for office comparable opportunities to appear on air if they do so for any candidates, though there are several exceptions, including for "bona fide" news programs.
- [6]
In January the FCC issued guidance to broadcasters on the equal-time provision and the bona fide news exceptions, saying no legal candidate for public office should be "unfairly given less access to the public airwaves than their opponent", and that late-night and daytime talk shows are not necessarily exempt.
- [7]
CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert said his bosses pulled an interview with Talarico earlier this year because they were concerned it could violate the FCC's equal-time rule.
- [8]
The dispute is Kimmel's third high-profile clash with Trump's FCC in the last 12 months.
- [9]
Disney suspended Kimmel last September over comments about Charlie Kirk's killer, after public pressure from Carr and some ABC affiliate partners; Carr had suggested local station owners who kept airing the show could have their broadcast licenses reviewed for possibly not operating in the public interest.
- [10]
Disney-owned ABC brought Kimmel back after widespread backlash and a boycott from free-speech advocates.
- [11]
After Kimmel joked in April about Melania Trump, and a day after Trump called for his dismissal, the FCC said it was reviewing ABC's broadcast licenses early, a highly unusual move, citing Disney's DEI policies.
- [12]
Disney did not suspend Kimmel over the April joke and has taken a tougher line against the FCC under new CEO Josh D'Amaro.
- [13]
Disney sued the FCC in August alleging the agency is violating the First Amendment by trying to shape its editorial content; ABC's complaint says the FCC "has waged a retaliatory campaign against ABC for a single reason: it disapproves of what ABC broadcasts."
- [14]
An FCC spokesperson said of Disney's suit that the agency "has been examining claims that Disney engaged in illegal DEI discrimination", that "Disney is obviously very concerned about the FCC's proceeding", and that "All broadcasters have a legal obligation to operate in the public interest - even Disney."
- [15]
The FCC is investigating ABC's morning talk show "The View", questioning whether it is a bona fide news program; FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has suggested such talk shows are unfairly partisan and give Democrats more airtime than Republicans.
- [16]
ABC has argued that "The View" should be exempt from the equal-time rule and believes the FCC is targeting it for speech the agency does not like.
- [17]
Two broadcast networks, CBS and ABC, have now kept interviews with the same US Senate candidate off their air.
- [18]
Of Kimmel's three high-profile clashes with the FCC in 12 months, two arose from remarks he made on air and the third from a guest booking.
- [19]
Because the comparable-opportunity duty described in the rule runs to broadcasters, distributing the interview on YouTube instead of on air does not carry that duty.
- [20]
The January guidance does not state that late-night and daytime talk shows are covered by equal time, only that they are not necessarily exempt, leaving the exemption question to be resolved case by case, as the FCC is doing with "The View".
- [21]
The equal-time trigger is a live candidacy, so the constraint on airing Talarico lapses with the November election, while the January guidance, the bona fide news inquiry, the license reviews and Disney's suit are not tied to that date.
Sources
2 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- businessinsider.comJimmy Kimmel is fighting with Donald Trump's FCC again
1 article · September 10, 2026
- vox.comThe interview Trump doesn’t want you to see
1 article · September 10, 2026
Topics and entities
Topics
- Broadcast regulation
- Late-night television