NBC honored a request by former President Trump’s campaign for equal time on the network following Vice President Kamala Harris’ appearance on “Saturday Night Live” just days before Tuesday’s election.
Harris performed in the opening sketch Saturday with Maya Rudolph, who has frequently played the Democratic presidential candidate on the program. Her appearance was revealed only hours before the show’s 11:30 p.m. Eastern air time as her plane, originally headed for a campaign stop in Detroit, was diverted to New York.
NBC filed an equal time notice with the Federal Communications Commission, stating that Harris had appeared on the network for one minute and 30 seconds.
According to people familiar with the discussions, campaign officials for Trump contacted the network and asked for time. The request was honored and Trump was given two free 60-second messages that appeared near the end of its telecast of a NASCAR playoff race and during post-game coverage of a “Sunday Night Football” contest in which the Minnesota Vikings defeated the Indianapolis Colts 21-13.
Other legally qualifying presidential candidates on the ballot can request time as well.
The equal time provision is designed to ensure that no legally qualified candidate for office is unfairly given less access to the public airwaves than their opponents. News programs are largely exempt from the rule, which does not require a station to provide opposing candidates with identical programming.
The rule applies only to broadcasters who use the public airwaves. It does not apply to cable or streaming outlets.
NBC has dealt with equal time issues before on its entertainment programs.
In 2007, the network refrained from airing episodes of “Law & Order: SVU” that included former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson, who played Dist. Atty. Arthur Branch on the crime drama after the actor declared he was pursuing the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.
The rule required Trump to leave his role as star of NBC’s reality competition series, “The Celebrity Apprentice,” once he declared his candidacy in 2015.
In 2011, when there were rumblings that he would enter the race against Barack Obama, Trump announced at NBC’s advertiser presentation at Radio City Music Hall that he was not running and that his show would be back for another season.
