FCC Targets ABC’s ‘The View’ Over Political Equal Time Rules After Talarico Interview

By Alex Johnson | Saturday, 07 February 2026 05:17 PM EST

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has launched a probe into ABC’s long-running daytime talk show, “The View,” over compliance with political equal time rules following an interview with Texas Democrat James Talarico, a source revealed on Saturday.

Talarico appeared on the program Monday.

The FCC’s equal time rule requires broadcast television and radio stations to provide legally qualified political candidates equal opportunities to use the airwaves if one candidate is given airtime, a policy designed to prevent broadcasters from favoring one contender over another.

The rule applies only to over-the-air broadcasters and includes exemptions for bona fide news coverage, interviews, documentaries, and live news events, allowing stations to report on campaigns without triggering equal-time obligations for every candidate in a race.

Last month, the FCC clarified its guidance on political equal time rules to include talk shows under the “statutory equal opportunities requirement,” citing the Communications Act of 1934, which encompasses their airing of late-night and daytime talk shows.

“Under section 315, if a broadcast station permits any legally qualified candidate for public office to use its facilities, it shall provide an equal opportunity to all other legally qualified candidates for that office,” the FCC stated in a press release.

While the FCC has historically allowed a “bona fide” exemption for news programming that avoids equal-time obligations, the agency now asserts it has found no evidence that interview segments on contemporary late-night or daytime talk shows meet that standard.

“Furthermore, a program motivated by partisan purposes would not be entitled to an exemption under longstanding FCC precedent,” the agency added.

The FCC also urged any program or station seeking formal assurance that the equal opportunities requirement does not apply (in whole or in part) to promptly file a petition for declaratory ruling that satisfies statutory requirements for a bona fide news exemption.

FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, a Democrat, condemned the probe. She suggested it was designed to intimidate networks and stated that broadcasters’ First Amendment rights allow them to air candidate interviews.

“Like many so-called ‘investigations’ before it, the FCC will announce an investigation but never carry one out, reach a conclusion, or take meaningful action,” Gomez said. “This is government intimidation, not a legitimate investigation.”

A study conducted by the Media Research Center and published last month found that “The View” featured 128 liberal guests on the show but only two conservative guests throughout 2025.

The FCC did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Disney and its ABC News unit declined to comment on Saturday.