Trump Administration Uses ‘Equal Time’ Rule to Reshape Late-Night TV

The F.C.C. is using the “equal time” provision to take aim at hosts like Stephen Colbert. The impact could reshape how talk shows handle politics.

In October 2006, while seeking re-election as California’s Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” on NBC. It seemed innocent enough: Mr. Schwarzenegger had been a guest on Mr. Leno’s show many times, and the two Hollywood stars enjoyed a warm relationship.

But Mr. Schwarzenegger’s Democratic opponent protested the appearance to the Federal Communications Commission and demanded that NBC give him 15 minutes of airtime in return, citing a rule in a decades-old communications law. The “equal time” rule requires certain broadcast shows to provide equal airtime to candidates competing for the same office.