Donald Trump’s outing as Saturday Night Live host last weekend was panned as unfunny. But for viewers who like their late-night TV with as little politics as possible, the joke may just have gotten worse.
To comply with federal rules designed to ensure equal treatment of political candidates, Trump’s rivals may now be entitled to more than 12 free minutes each over the next week on stations affiliated with NBC, which broadcasts SNL.
NBC on Monday filed a notice required by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) saying that Trump had appeared free of charge for 12 minutes and five seconds on Saturday’s program.
With 13 Republican candidates signed up to join Trump at a presidential debate tomorrow, that’s potentially a lot of free TV minutes.
Because SNL is an entertainment show as opposed to a news show such as Meet the Press, the FCC’s rules for equal airtime for candidates appear to apply. The rule says all “qualified candidates” “are entitled to the same quantity, day part and price as their opponents” for television broadcasts.
The government gets to write the equality rules because it owns the frequencies over which the stations broadcast.
The next step for Trump’s rivals would be to apply to affiliates – local outlets that carry network programming – for their share, which could be delivered in free late-night advertising, for example. SNL airs on the east coast at 11.30pm.
The rules for what constitutes equal air time and who counts as a qualified candidate are hazy, and any disagreement could result in a legal battle that many campaigns may not have the time or money to fight.
The critics notwithstanding, Trump’s appearance won SNL its best ratings in four years. The previous high, according to Entertainment Weekly, was for a January 2012 episode hosted by basketball star Charles Barkley, with musical guest Kelly Clarkson.
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