The Federal Communications Commission warned TV broadcasters Wednesday that daytime talk shows and late-night programs must give equal time to opposing political candidates.

The move addressed a genre of TV that President Trump has long argued is politically biased, leading to calls from the president to revoke broadcasters’ FCC licenses. 

The announcement hinges on a decades-old federal law requiring any FCC-licensed broadcaster that lets a political candidate appear on its airwaves to also offer “equal opportunities” to all other candidates running for the same office. The law exempts “bona fide newscasts” and news interviews from the equal time rule. 

In 2006, the FCC said the news exemption applied to an interview on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” meaning the late-night comedy show could feature then-California gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger on-air without also inviting his Democratic opponent.

But in a four-page notice on Wednesday, the FCC said it is “not the case” that all late-night and daytime entertainment shows are exempt. The regulator said it decides whether the exemption applies on a case-by-case basis, and it “has not been presented with any evidence” that interviews on those shows qualify for the news exemption.

FCC Chair Brendan Carr, a Trump ally, wrote on X: “For years, legacy TV networks assumed that their late night & daytime talk shows qualify as ‘bona fide news’ programs – even when motivated by purely partisan political purposes. Today, the FCC reminded them of their obligation to provide all candidates with equal opportunities.”

The FCC did not call out any specific shows by name. But Mr. Trump reposted a news headline on Truth Social that said the FCC is taking “aim” at two ABC shows that have long drawn the president’s ire — “The View” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Carr shared a screenshot of Mr. Trump’s post on X.

ABC did not respond to a request for comment from CBS News on the FCC’s notice. NBC and CBS, which also air late-night shows criticized by Mr. Trump, declined to comment.

Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez sharply criticized the FCC’s announcement, calling it “an escalation in this FCC’s ongoing campaign to censor and control speech.” She also argued the notice was “misleading” since the FCC hasn’t formally changed any of its rules, a process that typically involves a public comment period and a vote by the commissioners.

“Broadcasters should not feel pressured to water down, sanitize, or avoid critical coverage out of fear of regulatory retaliation,” Gomez said in a statement. “Broadcast stations have a constitutional right to carry newsworthy content, even when that content is critical of those in power. That does not change today, it will not change tomorrow, and it will not change simply because of this Administration’s desire to silence its critics.”

Mr. Trump has feuded with critical talk show hosts for years. He celebrated CBS parent company Paramount’s decision to end “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” last summer, and he hailed ABC’s decision in September to temporarily preempt “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” following comments Kimmel made about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. And he’s publicly called on NBC to fire late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers.

The president has also long argued that the FCC should revoke TV broadcast licenses for networks that consistently criticize him. The FCC has traditionally exerted limited influence over the content aired by TV networks, partly due to First Amendment constraints.

“They give me only bad publicity or press,” Mr. Trump told reporters in September. “I mean, they’re getting a license. I would think maybe their license should be taken away. It will be up to Brendan Carr.”

The issue has drawn the attention of Carr, who has regularly pointed to laws requiring broadcasters to operate in the “public interest.” 

Hours before ABC temporarily took Kimmel off the air, Carr publicly urged the Disney-owned TV network to “take action” in response to the comedian’s remarks on Kirk, saying in a podcast interview that “there are avenues here for the FCC.”

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said at the time.

Those comments drew bipartisan criticism, with Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas arguing Carr overstepped and could set a bad precedent the next time there’s a Democratic president.

“I gotta say, that’s right out of ‘Goodfellas.’ That’s right out of a mafioso coming into a bar, going, ‘nice bar you have here, it’d be a shame if something happened to it,'” Cruz said of Carr’s remarks on Kimmel, mimicking a mob boss’s accent.