Here’s A Headline You Don’t See Everyday

Ya know, for a guy who isn’t running (wink wink), Fred Thompson has been in the news quite a bit lately:  Contemplating a Run for Office Can Complicate Television Reruns

Hoping to avoid violating a Federal Communications Commission provision that would force the network to provide equal time to other candidates running for president, NBC chief lobbyist Robert Okun has reached out to the GOP presidential campaigns of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, among others, to inquire whether they would make a major issue out of Thompson being featured in reruns this summer.

Under the equal-time rule, if a network gives time to one political candidate, it is required to provide the same amount of airtime to his or her opponents. In other words, if Thompson appeared on a “Law & Order” episode for 10 minutes during prime time, NBC would have to give Thompson’s rivals for the Republican nomination 10 minutes of prime time each.

If Thompson waits until fall to announce, however, he’ll essentially have NBC putting his Arthur Branch persona on prime-time TV for free (or, better yet, residuals?).  Considering that Republicans aren’t really liking any of the current GOP front runners right now, I think Thompson is safe to wait it out a bit.