A related provision, in §315(b), requires that broadcasters offer time to candidates at the same rate as their "most favored advertiser".
The equal-time rule was created due to concerns that broadcast stations could easily manipulate the outcome of elections by presenting just one point of view and excluding other candidates.
When Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump ran for president, television networks did not broadcast films or programs they appeared in.
[4] Localized invocations of the rule apply in elections for lower office, with television stations revising their schedules if they broadcast within the state or district where the candidate in question is running.
[6] The equal-time rule should not be confused with the now-defunct FCC fairness doctrine, which dealt with presenting balanced points of view on matters of public importance.