GOP Presidential Hopefuls Want Free Time From NBC After Trump ‘SNL’ Appearance

After the great air time that Donald Trump received a few weeks back when he guest-hosted Saturday Night Live, two other presidential candidates are wanting their due: John Kasich and Lindsey Graham. He had his team send a missive to the NBC folks, demanding coverage under the equal-time rule in broadcast journalism.

While it’s up to the local affiliates to satisfy the Federal Communications Commission’s regulations, the NBC network is negotiating with the four campaigns directly, Woods said.

The candidates mainly made requests to NBC affiliates in the early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire, SC and Nevada.

Candidate cameos on “SNL” also trigger “equal time” concerns, but Trump’s appearance is more consequential because he was the host, appearing for about 12 minutes total. However, NBC has already said that the air time they give to the candidates won’t necessarily be on the late night live skit show. A requirement of an equal time request is that a campaign must be a bona fide candidacy, and Parets pointed out that Graham has multiple staff members in the state and has frequently appeared at events.

Democrat Lawrence Lessig asked for time following Clinton’s appearance, but after Lessig suspended his campaign November 2, the request-of 47 stations-was never resolved, according to Lessig’s attorney, Adam Bonin.

Kasich’s request purports that – under FCC guidelines – both he and Trump are “legally qualified candidates” and that he is “entitled” to the same opportunities his presidential contender receives.