NBC is giving free commercial time to former President Donald Trump's campaign in response to Vice President Kamala Harris' appearance Saturday night liveincluding an unusual announcement during NASCAR coverage on Sunday, a source familiar with the matter says.
Harris appeared Saturday SNL for one minute and 30 seconds, meaning that if another presidential campaign requested it, NBC would have to give it about 90 seconds of time.
On Sunday, NBC broadcast a NASCAR playoff race, but some viewers noticed near the end of the broadcast that Trump appeared in an unusual commercial, speaking directly to the camera while wearing a red baseball cap that read “Make America Great Again,” and arguing that Harris’ election would cause a “depression” and viewers should “go vote.”
A source familiar with the matter says the spot during the NASCAR race was linked to NBC giving equal time to the Trump campaign. It's unclear where else the Trump campaign would seek time on NBC, or how long it would last. It's also unclear whether other campaigns took the same amount of time.
If they do, however, NBC will likely have to make time for them, given FCC rules. SNL creator Lorne Michaels has already mentioned the rules in an interview with The Hollywood journalist as the reason the show hadn't had Trump or Harris this cycle.
Harris appeared on SNL in a “cold” sketch alongside Maya Rudolph, who plays the Vice President for the late-night comedy show. The sketch featured Rudolph's Harris seeking a pep talk from the real Harris, with the pair ending the segment by saying “Hold Kamala and move on-wing.”
However the sketch drew a rebuke from FCC commissioner Brendan Carr, who is seen as a potential FCC chairman if President Trump is re-elected. Carr wrote that the sketch was “a clear and blatant effort to circumvent the FCC's equal time rule” because it arrived just two days before Election Day, within the seven-day window the FCC offers to campaigns to demand equal time.
It's worth noting that the rule “does not require a station to provide opposing candidates with identical programs to the initiator candidate,” per FCC regulations, but rather comparable time and placement.