Jimmy Kimmel’s interview with Texas Senate candidate James Talarico will not air on ABC. It is heading to YouTube instead.
Kimmel announced the move on tonight’s show, saying Trump’s FCC had threatened him, his show, ABC, and its affiliates over the interview.
Kimmel Explains the FCC Threat
This is the second time this year Talarico has been pushed off broadcast television.
In February, Stephen Colbert said CBS lawyers told him Talarico could not appear on Late Night. The FCC, now led by Chair Brendan Carr, had issued new guidance on the “equal time” rule.
That rule requires broadcasters who feature qualified political candidates to offer rival candidates the same airtime, if requested. Late-night shows had long been exempt from it. Trump’s FCC said that exemption was over.
Colbert’s interview with Talarico went to YouTube instead.
At the time, Colbert noted the irony. He said two of the people most affected by the threat were himself and Kimmel.
What Kimmel Said Tonight
Kimmel pointed out that Trump appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! twice before he was elected.
“Now that he is President, his FCC has threatened me, threatened our show, threatened our network, ABC, our affiliates, our local stations, based on simple, traditional editorial decisions,” Kimmel said. “Guest bookings, it would seem, they don’t like.”
He said the move was made “out of consideration for our local stations, especially our ABC affiliates in Texas who would have to deal with this nonsense.”
He then laid out the plan:
- The interview with Talarico will not air on ABC tomorrow night.
- It will be posted in full on the Jimmy Kimmel Live YouTube channel.
- Viewers who want to learn about the Senate candidate must go there to watch it.
“And thank goodness we have that,” Kimmel said, “because in the America we live in right now, that is the best that we can do — until November, of course.”
He closed by urging viewers to vote. “Because that’s the most important thing you can do,” he said.
The Fallout
The move may end up helping Talarico.
After the Colbert switch in February, the Texas Democrat raised $2.5M for his Senate campaign in the 24 hours that followed.
Kimmel cited several reasons for the shift:
- The FCC’s threats against him, his show, ABC, and its affiliates.
- The burden on local ABC stations in Texas.
- The availability of YouTube as a platform to air the interview in full.
The full interview drops on YouTube tomorrow, and that $2.5M haul came without any broadcast airtime. Kimmel’s version may follow the same path.
Whether the controversy translates into donations this time is not known. But Talarico’s campaign has already seen what a YouTube-only appearance can do.
Source: deadline.com
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