On Tuesday night, the Viacom-owned cable network BET, which targets the African-American
audience, was able to do something that no broadcast network could -- air, in its
entirety, Barack Obama's speech hailing his primary victory that clinched the Democrat
ic presidential nomination without having to give equal time to his presumed Republican
rival, John McCain, and other qualified candidates. Under FCC regulations, if a broadcast
network offers time to a political candidate (outside of a news program or a debat
e), it must offer equal time to all other candidates. The rule does not apply to
cable networks like BET.
04/06/2008
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