What to know about the equal time rule Stephen Colbert says led to interview being pulled

Equal time rule leads CBS to pull Stephen Colbert's James Talarico interviewBy Georgie Hewson and wiresTopic:World Politics10m ago10 minutes agoWed 18 Feb 2026 at 3:18amThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert is coming to an end in May 2026. (Supplied: CBS)abc.net.au/news/cbs-pulls-stephen-colbert-james-talarico-interview/106357474Link copiedShareShare articleThe Late Show host Stephen Colbert has become embroiled in another disagreement with broadcaster CBS and the Trump administration in his final months on air after his show was cancelled. Mr Colbert told viewers this week he was advised an interview slated for Monday's broadcast with Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico would violate "equal time" regulatory guidance from the Trump administration. So what is the equal time rule and is it being enforced more heavily on late-night and panel shows?What happened?Mr Colbert said CBS lawyers informed him in "no uncertain terms" that Talarico could not appear on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert broadcast because the network feared violating the equal time rule enforced on political candidates.In a workaround, Colbert interviewed Talarico for nearly 15 minutes and posted the video to YouTube and social media."Then I was told, in some uncertain terms, that not only could I not have him on. I could not mention me not having him on," Colbert said."And because my network clearly doesn't want us to talk about this, let's talk about this."Loading Instagram contentWhat has CBS said?CBS disputes Colbert's comments, saying its attorneys only "provided legal" that broadcasting the interview could trigger the rule enforced by the Federal Communications Commission.It comes as Colbert enters his final months on the show, which was cancelled after 33 years on air.What does equal time mean?In the US, there is legislation that has broadly governed the use of the nation's airwaves.It includes a provision that applies specifically to coverage of political candidates.It is called the Communications Act of 1934.Essentially, if a station gives air time to one candidate, then the same station must offer comparable time to other candidates competing in the contest, should they ask for it.It only applies to television and radio.Streaming services, cable and social media aren't included.Exceptions to the rule include newscasts, "bona fide" interview programs, and coverage of live events or documentaries.But, if candidates host TV shows or appear in non-news programming, that triggers the provision.Similar rules are enforced in Australia during an electoral campaign.The Australian Communications and Media authority guidelines for the broadcast of political matter say that if, during an election period a broadcaster broadcasts election matter, the broadcaster must give reasonable opportunities for broadcasting election matter to all political parties contesting the election.The equal time rule hasn't traditionally been applied to talk shows in the US but the Trump administration has made moves to change that.In January, the Federal Communications Commission issued a new guidance warning late-night and daytime hosts that they needed to give political candidates equal time."The FCC has not been presented with any evidence that the interview portion of any late-night or daytime television talk show program on air presently would qualify for the bona fide news exemption," it read.The agency suggested that Colbert may be "motivated by partisan purposes".The Associated Press said the FCC had also signalled a crackdown on The View, a daytime talk show that has aired criticism of US President Donald Trump.Who is James Talarico?James Talarico is campaigning against Jasmine Crockett in the heated Texas Democratic primaries.James Talarico is running to become the Democratic candidate for the Senate in this year's midterm elections. (AP: Eric Gay)If he wins, he will go on to represent the party as a candidate for one of Texas's federal Senate seats at the midterm elections later this year.Senators are elected to staggered six-year terms.A third of the 100 seats are up for grabs in any midterm election.Jasmine Crockett speaks before voting early in the primary election in Dallas. (AP: LM Otero)Texas, the largest red state in the US, is set to have one of the fiercest Senate races of the 2026 midterm cycle.In the GOP primaries, scandal-plagued Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will attempt to unseat four-term senator John Corbyn.Internally, the GOP is concerned Mr Paxton winning the primaries could cost the party the Senate seat at the midterms.In a memo sent earlier this month, which was obtained by the Associated Press, party strategists said Mr Paxton would perform worse than Mr Corbyn against any Democrat.Democrats set their sights on TexasWhile it has been 30 years since Democrats last won a statewide election in Texas, the party senses an opening as Trump deals with sagging approval ratings.The