FCC Seeks Public Comment on Equal Time Exemption for The View

The Federal Communications Commission is accepting public input on whether ABC's "The View" should be exempt from a requirement to offer equal broadcast opportunities to political candidates, according to a May 22 public notice. It follows ABC and KTRK-TV, its Houston affiliate station, requesting that the FCC "expeditiously affirm that 'The View' continues to qualify for the bona fide news interview exemption" in a May 7 petition to the FCC.

The Communications Act of 1934 established the equal opportunity rule for both radio and later television.

It was amended in 1959 to exempt newscasts, news interviews, news documentaries and on-the-spot coverage of news events from that requirement. The FCC said in January that daytime and late-night television talk shows do not have a blanket exemption.

Its public notice said the commission had once determined that the interview segment of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" qualified for the news interview exemption but asserted that singular decision has been interpreted and applied too broadly in the years since.

The commission's chairman announced action against ABC in line with its equal time rules in February after state Rep. James Talarico, D-Texas, appeared on "The View" while running in the state's Democratic U.S. Senate primary. The commission has been split on "The View," with the chairman describing the probe as a procedural matter and Commissioner Anna Gomez characterizing the actions as politically motivated.

"Let's not pretend this FCC hasn't already made up its mind," Gomez wrote in an X post. Comments can be submitted through the FCC's Electronic Comment Filing System. The deadline to submit comments is June 22.