His minimal appearance on the show would suggest NBC was extremely cognizant of TV’s so-called “equal time” rule, which mandates that U.S. broadcast and radio stations that grant appearances to political candidates must provide an equal amount of time to other candidates who request it….Candidates who want equal time are not guaranteed to get what Trump received. NBC could send them to various programs operated by NBC News, or to NBC-owned stations or some of the network’s affiliates. But other people striving for the office could certainly gain publicity for themselves by making the request – and bring more scrutiny to the broadcast network, which is owned by Comcast’s NBCUniversal unit.