Jimmy Kimmel moves Texas Senate interview to YouTube amid FCC scrutiny
The ABC host said the interview with Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico would not air on the network, citing heightened scrutiny of political appearances and equal-time rules.
ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel has said an interview with Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico will be released on YouTube rather than broadcast on the network.
Kimmel attributed the decision to increased scrutiny by the Federal Communications Commission over political candidates’ appearances and equal-time requirements. The interview was scheduled for release on Thursday.
The FCC said in January that daytime and late-night talk shows no longer qualified as “bona fide” news programmes exempt from equal-time rules governing broadcasters’ treatment of political candidates.
The available account does not establish that the FCC directly ordered ABC to remove the interview. Al Jazeera reported that Kimmel described the episode as part of a broader increase in regulatory attention to political coverage involving ABC and other programmes.
The decision comes as the Texas Senate race is rated a toss-up by the Cook Political Report and the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics. Texas has not elected a Democrat to the US Senate since 1988, while Republicans have committed significant campaign spending against Talarico.
Critics cited in the report say the FCC’s expanding involvement in programming decisions risks chilling broadcasters’ editorial independence. The interview’s final timing and form of release remain subject to confirmation.
