Kimmel Moves Talarico Interview to YouTube Over FCC Equal-Time Warning

ABC will move Jimmy Kimmel’s interview with Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico from broadcast television to YouTube because of what Kimmel described as threats from the Trump administration’s Federal Communications Commission over political guest bookings. The dispute follows an FCC warning that late-night and daytime talk shows may not automatically qualify for an exemption from equal-time rules requiring broadcasters to offer comparable opportunities to opposing candidates. The decision echoes CBS’s earlier move to release Stephen Colbert’s Talarico interview online amid similar concerns. Talarico called the move government censorship, while conservative analyst Jonah Goldberg criticized the FCC’s involvement as harmful to free speech. The White House denied pressuring Kimmel or ABC, and ABC’s parent company Disney is separately challenging the FCC in court over alleged political and regulatory retaliation. Talarico is running against Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a closely watched Senate race.