The Federal Communications Commission has launched a formal investigation into ABC’s daytime talk show “The View,” examining whether the program violated federal equal-time requirements after featuring a Democrat Senate candidate.
The probe follows the FCC’s recent push to more aggressively enforce longstanding broadcast rules requiring equal opportunities for legally qualified political candidates.
Last month, the agency announced it would require broadcast networks to comply with the “statutory equal opportunities requirement,” citing the Communications Act of 1934, “including their airing of late-night and daytime talk shows.”
According to a source at the FCC, the investigation was triggered by Monday’s appearance of Texas Democrat Senate candidate James Talarico on “The View.”
Talarico was among the first political candidates to appear on a daytime talk show after the FCC signaled renewed enforcement of the equal-time rule.
For decades, broadcasters have relied on a “bona fide” news exemption that allows news programming to feature candidates without providing equal airtime to opponents.
However, the FCC recently stated it “has not been presented with any evidence that the interview portion of any late-night or daytime television talk show program on the air presently would qualify for the ‘bona fide’ news exemption.”
The source said Disney, ABC’s parent company, did not submit an equal-time filing to the FCC following Talarico’s appearance.
Such a filing would implicitly signal that ABC considers “The View” to be bona fide news programming and, therefore, exempt from equal-time requirements.
Without that documentation, the FCC is now reviewing whether the segment should have triggered obligations to provide comparable airtime to other candidates.
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Under federal law, the equal opportunity requirement applies to all legally qualified candidates on the ballot, regardless of party affiliation.
That includes Republican candidates such as incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and his primary challengers, as well as additional Democrat contenders in the race.
A source cited recent disparities in airtime on “The View” as part of the agency’s review.
Talarico reportedly received roughly nine minutes of airtime during a single segment.
By comparison, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) appeared on the program last month and received approximately 17 minutes of airtime across three segments, though her appearance occurred before the FCC publicly announced its renewed enforcement policy.
The equal-time requirement would also apply to Ahmad Hassan, a lesser-known candidate running against both Talarico and Crockett in the Democrat primary.
“Fake news is not getting a free pass anymore,” the FCC source said.
Recent guidance from the commission clarified that daytime and late-night talk shows are not automatically shielded from equal-time obligations simply because they address politics or current events.
If the FCC determines that ABC improperly treated Talarico’s appearance as exempt, the network could be required to provide equivalent airtime to his opponents.
FCC Chair Brendan Carr has also questioned whether “The View” should still be considered a legitimate news program.
During an interview on conservative commentator Scott Jennings’s podcast in September, Carr said:
“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.”
“And I think it’s worthwhile to have the FCC look into whether ‘The View’ and some of the 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,” he added.
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