NBC Agrees To Give Time To 4 Republican Candidates

NBC agreed to give four Republican presidential candidates free time on affiliates in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina after they complained Donald Trump unfairly benefited from appearing as "Saturday Night Live" host earlier in Nov. The network said Gov John Kasich (R-OH), Mike Huckabee, James Gilmore and Sen Lindsey Graham (R-SC) each will get about 12 minutes of time to tout their candidacies during prime time on Nov 27 and 28, and during this week's "Saturday Night Live." Republican George Pataki also had complained, but the network did not announce an agreement with his campaign.

The candidates will get the time on each of the 18 NBC stations in those three states, where early GOP nominating caucuses or primaries are being held. The candidates said they deserved the time to counter Trump's appearance in a non-news setting, based on federal equal time provisions.