TNT Won't Pull Law & Order When Thompson Declares

TNT WON'T PULL LAW & ORDER WHEN THOMPSON DECLARES
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton and Marisa Guthrie]
Now that Law & Order co-star Fred Thompson has signaled his plans to announce his presidential candidacy on Sept. 6, TNT, which airs voluminous repeats of the show, says that it has "no plans to alter its programming schedule." Thompson’s candidacy, when it becomes official, will trigger the FCC's equal-time rule, which requires stations or cable operators that air appearances of federal candidates—even in an entertainment context—to provide equal time to other qualified candidates. Broadcast and cable networks are not subject to the requirement, but TV stations are. Although it has not previously applied to cable systems, some cable networks have reportedly taken steps to avoid triggering the rule and setting a precedent. The NBC network says it won't air any Law & Order repeats with Thompson in them after Sept. 1 if Thompson does make it official.
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