What is the equal time rule in broadcasting?

Section 315 of the Communications Act of 1934 (codified at 47 U.S.C. Section 315) is the federal law commonly called the 'equal time rule.' It was enacted as part of the Communications Act of 1934 (Pub. L. 73-416), which established the Federal Communications Commission and the modern framework for broadcast regulation in the United States. Section 315 reflects the congressional judgment that broadcast licensees -- which receive exclusive licenses to operate on government-owned spectrum -- should not use that licensed privilege to favor one political candidate over another by granting access to some candidates while denying it to others. Because the radio spectrum is a limited public resource managed by the federal government, broadcasters operate under public-interest obligations that do not apply to print publishers, cable operators, or internet services.

The operative rule is found in Section 315(a): if any broadcast licensee permits any person who is a legally qualified candidate for any public office to use a broadcasting station, it must afford equal opportunities to all other candidates for that office in the use of the station. The key word is 'use' -- a technical term of art. A 'use' occurs when a candidate's actual voice or image appears on the station under the candidate's control or direction, as distinguished from news coverage of the candidate or discussion about the candidate. A campaign advertisement featuring the candidate's image or voice is a 'use.' A newscast reporting on the candidate's public activities is not. The practical consequence is that if a broadcast station airs an advertisement featuring a 2028 presidential candidate, every other legally qualified candidate for president may request equal time in the same class of programming. A 'legally qualified candidate' is a person who has publicly announced their candidacy, meets the legal requirements for the office (including the Article II requirements for president -- a natural-born citizen, at least 35 years old, and a 14-year resident), and either is on the ballot or has made a substantial showing of a bona fide candidacy.

Congress added four statutory exemptions to the equal-opportunities obligation through the Communications Act Amendments of 1959 (Pub. L. 86-274, enacted September 14, 1959). These exemptions address the concern that the rule, applied literally to news programming, would make broadcast coverage of political campaigns legally hazardous -- a newscast covering a candidate's rally could trigger demands for equal time from every other candidate for that office. Section 315(a) now provides that the equal-opportunities obligation does not apply to: (1) a bona fide newscast; (2) a bona fide news interview; (3) a bona fide news documentary, if the candidate's appearance is incidental to the documentary subject; and (4) on-the-spot coverage of a bona fide news event, including but not limited to political conventions and activities incidental thereto. The FCC determines in the first instance whether a particular program format qualifies for a statutory exemption, and licensees and candidates may challenge those determinations.

The fourth exemption -- on-the-spot coverage of bona fide news events -- has a significant history in the context of presidential debates. The 1960 presidential debates between John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon were broadcast on commercial television only because Congress passed a joint resolution (Pub. L. 86-677) temporarily suspending Section 315's equal-opportunities requirement for that election cycle. Without the suspension, ABC, CBS, and NBC would have been obligated to provide equal time to all other legally qualified presidential candidates for every hour of debate coverage, making a broadcast limited to only the two major-party nominees impossible. Congress did not renew the suspension for subsequent elections, and major-party presidential debates were not broadcast live on commercial television for over a decade after 1960. In 1975, the FCC issued a ruling clarifying that candidate debates organized by third parties and covered by broadcast stations qualify as on-the-spot coverage of bona fide news events under Section 315(a)(4) -- provided the debates are independently organized (not staged by the broadcaster itself) and the broadcaster's decision to carry the event reflects genuine news judgment. This ruling restored the practical ability of broadcast networks to cover presidential and congressional debates without incurring equal-time obligations to all other legally qualified candidates, and it has governed broadcast coverage of debates since 1976. For the 2028 presidential election, broadcast stations may cover candidate debates organized by third-party entities without triggering equal-time demands from other presidential candidates, provided the broadcasts qualify as on-the-spot news coverage of an independently organized event.

Section 315(b) governs the rates broadcast stations may charge political candidates for advertising time. During the 45 days before a primary election and during the 60 days before a general, special, or runoff election, broadcast stations must make time available to candidates for purchase and must charge no more than the lowest unit charge the station charges any advertiser for the same class and amount of time for the same period. This lowest-unit-charge requirement prevents stations from price-discriminating against political advertisers during campaign season; candidates pay the best available rate for that class of airtime rather than a higher rate that might be applied to non-preferred commercial buyers. For the 2028 presidential general election, the lowest-unit-charge window under Section 315(b) runs from September 8, 2028 (60 days before November 7, 2028) through Election Day. The equal time rule and its rate provisions apply only to over-the-air broadcast stations licensed by the FCC -- AM and FM radio stations and broadcast television stations. Cable television systems, satellite broadcasting services, and internet advertising platforms including streaming video, social media, and podcast advertising are not subject to Section 315's equal-opportunities or rate requirements. Because a substantial and growing share of campaign advertising in modern presidential elections occurs on digital and streaming platforms outside Section 315's reach, the equal time rule's practical scope is more limited today than in the era when broadcast television dominated campaign media.