--- title: FCC Chair Looks to Tighten the Screw on ‘The View’ description: ABC’s long-running daytime panel show could be subject to the “equal time” rule, FCC chair Brendan Carr suggested, after apparently pressuring the network to suspend Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night program. canonical: https://time.com/7318743/abc-kimmel-the-view-brendan-carr-fcc-equal-time-rule/ author: Miranda Jeyaretnam article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-09-19T07:30:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-11T00:17:26.066Z article:section: Politics og:title: FCC Chair Looks to Tighten the Screw on ‘The View’ og:description: ABC’s long-running daytime panel show could be subject to the “equal time” rule, FCC chair Brendan Carr suggested, after apparently pressuring the network to suspend Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night program. og:url: https://time.com/7318743/abc-kimmel-the-view-brendan-carr-fcc-equal-time-rule/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte9728d8f8c82f0dc/6998c9dfe2d64b3657c5fb01/the-view.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: JOY BEHAR, SARA HAINES, ANA NAVARRO, MOLLY JONG-FAST, SUNNY HOSTIN, ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: FCC Chair Looks to Tighten the Screw on ‘The View’ twitter:description: ABC’s long-running daytime panel show could be subject to the “equal time” rule, FCC chair Brendan Carr suggested, after apparently pressuring the network to suspend Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night program. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte9728d8f8c82f0dc/6998c9dfe2d64b3657c5fb01/the-view.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # After Jimmy Kimmel’s Suspension, FCC Chair Takes Aim at _The View_ ## Video: Democrats Call on FCC Chair Brendan Carr to Resign Following Jimmy Kimmel Suspension [Watch (HLS stream): Democrats Call on FCC Chair Brendan Carr to Resign Following Jimmy Kimmel Suspension](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/hCY2TA7J.m3u8) (2:05)  _Published 2025-09-19. After ABC suspended comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show following a threat from the head of the Federal Communications Commission, Democratic lawmakers have criticized the Trump Administration’s apparent pressuring of ABC, calling for Carr’s dismissal and introducing a bill to strengthen free speech protections._  by [Miranda Jeyaretnam](https://time.com/author/miranda-jeyaretnam/)  ## Miranda Jeyaretnam Reporter Sep 19, 2025 7:30 AM UTC  'The View' hosts Joy Behar, Sara Haines, Ana Navarro, Sunny Hostin, and Alyssa Farah-Griffin with guest Molly Jong-Fast on June 27, 2025. 'The View' hosts Joy Behar, Sara Haines, Ana Navarro, Sunny Hostin, and Alyssa Farah-Griffin with guest Molly Jong-Fast on June 27, 2025.Lou Rocco—ABC/Getty Images  by [Miranda Jeyaretnam](https://time.com/author/miranda-jeyaretnam/)  ## Miranda Jeyaretnam Reporter Sep 19, 2025 7:30 AM UTC ABC’s [indefinite suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show](https://time.com/7318177/jimmy-kimmel-live-preempt-indefinitely-abc-nexstar-fcc-kirk-trump/) has prompted accusations of censorship by the Trump Administration after the decision appeared to have been influenced by FCC Chair Brendan Carr, who [said](https://x.com/BulwarkOnline/status/1968392506711613526) that “licensed broadcasters” should “push back” and refuse to air Kimmel’s show lest they face “the possibility of fines or license revocations from the FCC.” Democratic lawmakers have criticized the Trump Administration’s apparent pressuring of ABC, [calling for Carr’s dismissal](https://apnews.com/live/donald-trump-news-updates-9-18-2025#00000199-5dce-d71b-a99d-7dce21dd0000) and [introducing a bill](https://apnews.com/live/donald-trump-news-updates-9-18-2025) to strengthen free speech protections. But the Administration only appears more emboldened to pursue what experts have described as a [media suppression strategy](https://time.com/7318661/jimmy-kimmel-cancelled-trump-fired-colbert/), and Carr may already have his next target.  A view of signs left by demonstrators protesting the suspension of the "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" show outside the El Capitan Entertainment Centre in Hollywood in Los Angeles, California, on Sept. 18, 2025. Mario Tama—Getty Images President Donald Trump [suggested](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/18/jimmy-kimmel-show-trump) on Thursday that his Administration could punish TV networks for giving him “bad press,” after weeks of calling for ABC and NBC News’ broadcasting licenses to be revoked—though [he may not have the authority to do so](https://time.com/7312097/trump-abc-nbc-media-threats/). But Carr suggested a more technical approach to needle Trump’s media annoyances, saying in a Thursday episode of _The Scott Jennings Podcast_ that the commission may review whether ABC’s _The View_ should be subject to what’s known as the equal time rule. “I think it’s worthwhile to have the FCC look into whether _The View_, and some of these other programs that you have, still qualify as bona fide news programs and therefore exempt from the equal opportunity regime that Congress has put in place,” Carr said. Carr’s comments come amid calls from Republicans and far-right activists for a [crackdown on the left](https://time.com/7316315/republicans-far-right-reacts-charlie-kirk-death-blame-left-crackdown/) and as people across the country have been [fired or faced workplace sanctions](https://time.com/7316628/charlie-kirk-death-celebrations-social-media-consequences-fired-immigrants-deport/) over social media posts related to Kirk. Jennings had [asked](https://x.com/ScottJenningsKY/status/1968790921341747407) Carr about other ABC programs that “run afoul” of the [public interest rule](https://www.brookings.edu/articles/revisiting-the-broadcast-public-interest-standard-in-communications-law-and-regulation/), a legal standard requiring broadcasters to serve the “public interest, convenience, and necessity,” specifically citing _The View_. “A lot of people think there are other shows on ABC that maybe run afoul of this more than Jimmy Kimmel, I’m thinking specifically of _The View_,” Jennings asked. “Are they doing what Kimmel did Monday night and is it even worse on those programs?” _The View_ hosts [notably did not discuss](https://www.thewrap.com/the-view-jimmy-kimmel-reaction-silent/) Kimmel’s suspension on Thursday and had previously [condemned the killing of Kirk](https://www.tvinsider.com/1215380/the-view-whoopi-goldberg-charlie-kirk-killer-message/) and political violence more broadly. Earlier this year, the White House [threatened](https://ew.com/white-house-statement-the-view-pulled-off-air-joy-behar-criticism-11777461) that _The View_ was next in line to be cancelled after CBS’s [_The Late Show_ _With Stephen Colbert_](https://time.com/7303448/late-show-stephen-colbert-cbs-cancel-paramount-trump/), after _The View_ co-host Joy Behar criticized [Trump for accusing former President Barack Obama of treason](https://time.com/7303912/trump-obama-jail-tulsi-gabbard-russiagate-hoax-prosecutions-democrats-republicans/). Behar referenced the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection on the U.S. Capitol and suggested that Trump was jealous of Obama. At the time, the panelists also [did not mention](https://www.thewrap.com/the-view-response-trump-cancellation-threat-ignored/) the White House’s threat against the show. ## What is the ‘equal time’ rule? The equal time or equal opportunity rule is a federal rule under the [Communications Act of 1934](https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/LSB11239) that requires broadcasters to give political candidates equal time or opportunity as each other. For example, radio or television stations that sell air time to one candidate must offer to sell the same amount of time to every other candidate running for that office. In 1959, Congress [amended](https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-94-631A1.pdf) the act to exempt bona fide newscasts, news interviews, documentaries, and on-the-spot coverage of a news event. In 1960, Congress [suspended](https://www2.gwu.edu/~erpapers/mep/displaydoc.cfm?docid=erps-presdeb60) the equal time rule to allow for coverage of the Kennedy-Nixon presidential debates, which were not recognized by the FCC at the time as meeting one of the four exemptions. In 1975, the FCC [ruled](https://www.nytimes.com/1975/09/26/archives/equaltime-rule-on-political-news-reversed-by-fcc.html) that debates were included as on-the-spot coverage of a news event, which was later [affirmed](https://www.pbs.org/standards/media-law-101/candidate-appearances/) by the Supreme Court that broadcasters need not give candidates equal air time in a debate. The FCC does have the power, under the [1971 Federal Election Campaign Act](https://www.congress.gov/92/statute/STATUTE-86/STATUTE-86-Pg3.pdf), to revoke a broadcaster’s license for “willful or repeated failure” to abide by the equal time rule. But the FCC has also over time provided more exemptions to news entertainment programs that include segments, interviews, or discussions considered bona fide news. In 1987, the FCC also [abolished the fairness doctrine](https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/topic-guide/fairness-doctrine), which required broadcasters to provide differing viewpoints when covering issues of public importance. “Over the years the FCC has developed a body of case law that has suggested that mostly late-night shows … are bona fide news programs,” Carr said. “And so potentially I would assume you could make the argument that _The View_ is a bona fide news show, but I’m not so sure about that.” Carr criticized NBC’s _Saturday Night Live_ last year for featuring then-Vice President Kamala Harris before the 2024 election, [prompting the network](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/04/election-snl-nbc-harris-trump) to give Trump airtime to directly address voters after a Nascar race. NBC was also [required to give rival GOP candidates](https://www.npr.org/2015/11/24/457270524/its-not-snl-but-nbc-will-give-equal-time-to-4-gop-candidates) airtime after Trump hosted SNL in 2015.If the FCC considers _The View_ no longer exempt from the equal time rule, it could have a wider impact on talk shows on both TV and radio more broadly, potentially affecting a forum that in actuality has [become dominated by conservatives](https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/articles/how-conservative-talk-radio-came-to-dominate-the-airwaves). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7318743/abc-kimmel-the-view-brendan-carr-fcc-equal-time-rule/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7318743/abc-kimmel-the-view-brendan-carr-fcc-equal-time-rule/"},"headline":"After Jimmy Kimmel’s Suspension, FCC Chair Takes Aim at The 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