The Federal Communications Commission issued new guidance on Wednesday on the application of the political equal opportunities statute, warning that late-night and daytime talk shows are not all exempt when they host certain politicians.
Under Section 315 of the Communications Act of 1934, broadcasters are legally required to offer equal time to candidates from different parties running for the same office. An exemption to this rule is if the content is “bona fide” news, meaning the politician appeared in a news segment, not an entertainment segment.
“The federal equal opportunities regulations operate to prevent broadcast television stations … from unfairly putting their thumbs on the scale for one political candidate or set of candidates over another,” the guidance states.
The bona fide exemption allows TV stations to air certain news-related appearances of political candidates without legally having to provide equal time to their opponents.
The guidance comes after a Media Research Center report found that late-night shows hosted 31 Democrats and no Republican elected officials in the last six months of 2025.
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The FCC said it received concerns that late-night and daytime talk shows have been operating under the assumption that the interview portion of all entertainment programs falls under the exemption established in a 2006 decision.
In 2006, the FCC’s Media Bureau issued a decision exempting the interview portion of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno from the equal opportunities statute because it determined it was “bona fide” news.
However, the renewed guidance states that the 2006 decision does not apply to all late-night and daytime talk shows with a program similar to Leno’s, and that programs must request the exemption.
“This is not the case,” the guidance said. “These decisions are fact-specific, and the exemptions are limited to the program that was the subject of the request.”
The equal time rule was last enforced after NBC’s Saturday Night Live hosted, then-Democratic presidential candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris, but did not give then-Republican nominee, President Donald Trump, the same opportunity.
FCC Chair Brendan Carr called NBC out, and the network then gave Trump equal airtime.
The FCC has not received any exemption requests from late-night or daytime talk shows, according to the guidance.
“It is important that both broadcasters and legally qualified candidates understand the FCC’s equal opportunities regulations and how they can result in broadcasters offering opposing legally qualified candidates comparable time and placement,” the FCC outlines in the guidance.
The Center for American Rights, a nonprofit conservative law firm focused on media issues, filed a complaint against late-night host Jimmy Kimmel in September, arguing that he consistently hosted Democratic candidates to whom he gave significant financial support.
Daniel Suhr, president of the Center for American Rights, said the guidance strikes “right at the heart of left-wing bias.”
“This important action puts Hollywood hosts and network bigwigs on notice—they can no longer prop up Democratic candidates with free airtime while shutting out Republicans,” Suhr told the Washington Examiner.