In a surprising turn of events, NBC was compelled to broadcast an advertisement featuring Donald Trump late Sunday.
This move was necessitated by the network's compliance with an Equal Time notice issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The notice was triggered by allegations of the network breaching the regulation following Kamala Harris' eleventh-hour appearance on "Saturday Night Live."
During an NBC telecast of a NASCAR playoff race on Sunday, viewers were greeted by Trump in a commercial, addressing them directly. A similar advertisement was aired during Sunday Night Football. As reported by The Post Millennial, these spots were a result of NBC's commitment to providing the Trump campaign with equal airtime.
The advertisement began with the words: "A special message from Donald J. Trump, flashing across the screen. Trump, in his characteristic directness, warned the audience, "We're losing everything, including viability. We're going to end up in a depression based on what's been happening. We've never seen anything like it, at least in the last 40 years.
The Equal Time notice filed by NBC, as obtained by Fox News, stated, "Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate for president in the 2024 national election, appeared without charge on NBC's Saturday Night Live (SNL) for a total period of 1 minute and 30 seconds on November 2, 2024."
This development followed FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr's criticism of Harris' appearance, which he described as a clear and blatant effort to evade the FCC's Equal Time rule.
The FCCs Equal Time rule mandates that candidates for public office receive equivalent airtime on networks utilizing public broadcasting resources. Following NBC's notice filing, all other eligible candidates running against Harris had the opportunity to request equal airtime from NBC for up to a week, which the network was obligated to provide under federal law. Jason Miller, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, informed Fox News that SNL did not extend an invitation to the former president.
Carr expressed his views on Fox News Sunday morning, stating, "This has all the appearances of, at least some leadership at NBC, at SNL, making clear that they wanted to weigh-in in favor of one candidate before the election.
In the aftermath of the filing, Carr told Fox News that NBC's filing confirms the network "views the Harris SNL appearance as a free use of their facilities and airwaves within the meaning of the federal Equal Time rule."
Carr further explained that under normal circumstances, the filing would usually open up a seven-day period when all other qualified candidates can seek Equal Time from NBC-meaning comparable time on a comparable program. Here, opposing candidates dont have seven days."
Harris' SNL segment drew criticism on social media for its striking resemblance to a 2015 skit featuring Trump on Jimmy Fallon's show.
In a similar vein, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, Hillary Clinton's running mate in 2016, also made an appearance on SNL Saturday night, prompting NBC to file an Equal Time notice for his appearance as well.
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