Republican presidential candidates John Kasich, Lindsey Graham and George Pataki, all polling nationally at or less than 3 percent, have reportedly requested “equal time” on NBC and affiliate airwaves, after frontrunner Donald Trump hosted “Saturday Night Live” on Nov. 7.
E. Mark Braden, a lawyer for the Kasich campaign, sent a letter last week to NBC Universal and affiliates who aired Trump’s episode of “Saturday Night Live,” requesting “equal opportunity” for Kasich.
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Graham and Pataki have sent similar letters to NBC affiliate stations, according to news reports.
Federal rules entitle candidates competing for public office an equal amount of time to broadcast television. If one candidate is given a platform outside of news programming, rival campaigns have the right to appear on the same network, though not necessarily in the same capacity. That means NBC will not be forced to let the three candidates host the long-running comedy show.
As host of “Saturday Night Live,” Trump appeared on the show for more than 10 minutes.
A spokesperson for NBC did not return a request for comment from the Washington Examiner media desk about how it would respond.
