Late-night and daytime talk shows must offer equal time for candidate interviews, FCC says [View all]

Source: NBC News/Reuters

Jan. 21, 2026, 9:00 PM EST


WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission said Wednesday that daytime and late-night TV talk shows featuring interviews with political candidates must comply with “equal time” rules that give airtime to views of opposing candidates and that the shows cannot rely on a 2006 decision that suggested they were exempt.

Until now, talk shows have qualified for the equal opportunities exemption as genuine news interviews, ever since the FCC’s Media Bureau granted an exemption to the interview part of Jay Leno’s “Tonight Show” in 2006. Networks have relied on the ruling as a precedent for recent interviews with political candidates.

The FCC’s Media Bureau said Wednesday, however, that networks should not rely on the 2006 decision, adding that it “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 an exemption. The agency added that any program or station seeking assurances that the equal time requirements do not apply should “promptly file a petition for a declaratory ruling.”

Democratic FCC member Anna Gomez said the guidance was at odds with the commission’s long-standing view that late-night programs and daytime news shows are entitled to editorial discretion based on newsworthiness, not political favoritism. She said the announcement was “an escalation in this FCC’s ongoing campaign to censor and control speech. ... The First Amendment does not yield to government intimidation. Broadcasters should not feel pressured to water down, sanitize or avoid critical coverage out of fear of regulatory retaliation.”

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/fcc-late-night-daytime-talk-shows-equal-time-candidate-interviews-rcna255315