Jimmy Kimmel Warns FCC Equal‑Time Guidance Threatens Candidate Interviews

Late‑night host Jimmy Kimmel used his Jan. 21, 2026 broadcast to tell viewers he "might need [their] help again" after the Federal Communications Commission issued new guidance warning the three major broadcast networks that their late‑night and daytime talk shows must comply with Section 315’s equal‑opportunities rule when they host political candidates. The FCC release reiterated that if a station lets any legally qualified candidate "use its facilities," it must offer equal opportunity to rivals, explicitly flagging talk shows like Kimmel’s as potentially covered and signaling a harder line on networks that treat them as exempt "news" programs. Kimmel, whose show was briefly suspended last fall after controversial remarks about Charlie Kirk drew public threats from FCC Chair Brendan Carr, framed the move as part of President Trump’s "war on talk shows" and said his show is "once again getting threatened" by regulators. The story underscores a growing fight over how far the administration will push regulatory levers to constrain perceived hostile media, and whether applying equal‑time rules to partisan‑leaning talk formats would chill candidate appearances or force networks to book political opponents they otherwise would avoid. Civil‑liberties and media‑law experts are already debating online whether the FCC’s posture is a neutral enforcement of long‑standing statute or a politicized attempt to pressure outlets critical of the president.