FCC chair says senator's TV appearance didn't violate equal-time rule

Key facts

• FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said Senator Ted Cruz's appearance on ESPN's "College GameDay" did not violate equal-time rules.
• The equal-time rule applies to broadcast TV stations, not cable programs.
• The rule also only applies to legally qualified candidates, and Cruz is not running in the current midterm elections.
• The FCC had warned ABC about an interview with Democratic candidate James Talarico.
• Jimmy Kimmel aired his interview with Talarico on YouTube instead of ABC due to the FCC warning.
• The FCC ruled in January that daytime and late-night TV talk shows are not "bona fide" news programs exempt from equal-time rules.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has stated that an interview with Republican Senator Ted Cruz on ESPN's "College GameDay" did not violate the commission's equal-time rule. Carr clarified that the rule applies to broadcast television stations, not cable programs like ESPN, and that it only applies to legally qualified candidates, which Cruz is not as he is not running in the current midterm elections.

This statement comes days after the FCC issued a warning to ABC, a sister network to ESPN, regarding an interview with James Talarico, a Democratic candidate for a Texas U.S. Senate seat. Due to the FCC's threat, late-night host Jimmy Kimmel aired his interview with Talarico on YouTube rather than on his network broadcast.

In January, the Republican-led FCC had announced that daytime and late-night TV talk shows would no longer be considered "bona fide" news programs exempt from equal-time rules. Senator Cruz had previously criticized the FCC's decision to review broadcast licenses held by Walt Disney, ABC's parent company, stating that the government should not censor speech.