Jimmy Kimmel is moving a Senate candidate interview to YouTube to sidestep FCC pressure

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The late-night host said ABC feared running afoul of FCC equal-time rules by airing his interview with Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico

Randy Holmes/Disney via Getty Images

Jimmy Kimmel said Wednesday night that an interview with Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico would not air on ABC, with the Disney $DIS +0.69%-owned network concerned about FCC equal-time rules. The interview streamed on YouTube on Thursday instead.

"Now that he's president, his FCC has threatened me, threatened our show, threatened our network, ABC, our affiliates, our local stations," Kimmel said during his Wednesday broadcast, according to The Wall Street Journal. He added that his decision to keep the interview off television was "out of consideration" for ABC affiliates who would otherwise have to "deal with this nonsense" of FCC scrutiny.

Equal-time rules oblige broadcasters to offer a candidate's rivals equivalent airtime whenever that candidate appears on a non-news program. According to the Journal, the FCC's January guidance put forward the position that any program deemed "motivated by partisan purposes" could lose the protections long afforded to news and talk-show formats. Kimmel noted that he had President Donald Trump on his show in 2015 and has interviewed candidates for years without needing to comply with equal-time requirements.

White House spokesman Davis Ingle pushed back on Kimmel's characterization. "Jimmy Kimmel is play-acting — as he often does — to create a false narrative about this administration's policies," Ingle said, according to the Journal. "Chairman Carr has not threatened him regarding interviewing James Talarico, or any other candidate." The FCC did not respond to requests for comment.

James Talarico, a Texas state representative, is running against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has received an endorsement from Trump. Public polling has shown Talarico leading Paxton, according to CNBC. Paxton faced impeachment proceedings in the Texas House of Representatives on corruption grounds before the state Senate voted to acquit him.

The Kimmel episode is part of a broader conflict between ABC and federal regulators. ABC sued the FCC last month, alleging the agency mounted a retaliatory campaign against the network over its editorial decisions. ABC asked the court for emergency relief to stop the FCC's license-renewal proceedings against its eight owned stations, and a hearing on that request is set for Oct. 6.

The FCC separately opened an early license renewal process for those eight stations in April, and has also been investigating whether ABC's daytime show "The View" qualifies for an exemption from equal-time rules. The Journal also noted that earlier this year Stephen Colbert, the former CBS late-night host, scrapped a planned on-air interview with Talarico after CBS lawyers flagged potential FCC exposure, leaving YouTube as the only outlet for that conversation.

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