SNL & Equal Time Rule

[Hyrum]

NY Post Monday: NBC News filed an Equal Time notice with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) late Sunday following the backlash, disclosing Harris “SNL” appearance

A Trump commercial appeared near the end of NASCAR’s Xfinity 500 and the NFL’s coverage of the Vikings- Colts game on Sunday night. It appears that the issue was discussed by suits at NBC and a solution was found.

 

[michael hagerty]

My take?

Lorne said "f*** it", worked out the deal to have the VP on the show and kept it a secret until her plane diverted to NYC.

If he'd extended the offer to the Trump campaign, it likely wouldn't have stayed secret.

Lorne carries enormous clout at NBC. He owns their late-night (Tonight Show, Seth, SNL).

I'm betting NBC brass didn't know until it was too late. That's why they filed the Equal Time notice on Sunday.

Nobody's gonna lose a license for this. At worst it's a fine, and Lorne could have it deducted from his paycheck and never miss it.

 

[Fighting Irish]

Brendan Carr is a joke, and I really don't think anyone outside of the conservative mockrage media really takes him seriously. Carr loses his s**t over the 90-something Soros investing in Audacy over make-believe fears of their stations becoming some kind of liberal soapboxes, all the whole ignoring companies like Sinclair, which is notorious for over-the-top right-wing bias. Or the many companies out there that clutter up the AM radio band with GOP propaganda. Carr is either stupid, or he thinks everyone else is stupid. In reality, he's Brent Bozell with a government paycheck.

 

[michael hagerty]

And apparently it's already a non-issue. Trump ran a previously unscheduled 60-second ad in post-NASCAR coverage yesterday:

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-harris-election-11-04-24#cm32fz76l00003b6nsf70xo24

 

[JeeperOne]

This is what happened with 60 Minutes. Both candidates were offered time on the show. Only one appeared. Then the one who didn't appear sued CBS for $10 billion claimed the interview was "deceptively edited."

Trump sues CBS News over 60 Minutes interview with Harris; network says suit is "completely without merit"

Former President Donald Trump has sued CBS News over a recent 60 Minutes interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. The network says it intends to vigorously defend against the lawsuit.

www.cbsnews.com

This is what he does. In 2019, he wanted the DOJ to investigate SNL because he didn't like the way he was portrayed:

Trump asked whether the DOJ and the FCC could investigate 'SNL' after it mocked him, report says

Trump said in 2019 that he wanted officials to investigate "SNL" and late-night shows. The Daily Beast reports that he actually tried to take action.

www.businessinsider.com

TRANSLATION...

TRUMP - I want to dictate the interview & the questions being asked as I don't want to answer tough questions. I don't have to. I'm THE Grand Pooh Bah & you're going to bow down & kiss my ass if you want an interview with me as I want AND DESERVE to be treated WITH ROYALTY with kid gloves

CBS - Nope. You do not get to dictate anything & we will not bow down & kiss your ass

TRUMP - Then I WILL SUE !!

CBS - Feel free. Good luck

 

[JeeperOne]

I find it hard to believe that SNL didn’t offer Trump an appearance. I would think that the NBC lawyers would have insisted upon it. Assuming that’s the case, any Trump rejection of their offer would have meant that NBC fulfilled its legal obligations and it was an all-clear for Harris to appear.

An interesting thought experiment would be to consider a situation where a major network has no O&O stations. Legally, the FCC would have no direct leverage over such a network. That network, of course, would have to consider the effects on its affiliated stations, but that’s not quite the same thing. The four major networks all still have O&Os, but in the future….?

And in NBC's case, both the network & its O&O's (Though & through a seperate entity) are owned by a major Cable company - Comcast/Xfinity