Stephen Colbert says CBS barred interview with Democrat

CBS late-night show host Stephen Colbert says the network's lawyers barred him from airing an interview with Democratic Texas State Representative James Talarico, who is running for the US Senate.

"Donald Trump's administration wants to silence anyone who says anything bad about Trump on TV, because all Trump does is watch TV," Colbert said on Monday's broadcast of The Late Show.

The Republican-led Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said last month that daytime and late-night TV talk shows are no longer considered "bona fide" news programs that are exempt from equal time rules that require them to give air time to the views of opposing candidates.

Colbert criticised FCC Chair Brendan Carr and the network's lawyers, saying they were unilaterally enforcing Carr's directive for "purely financial reasons".

Those words echoed the explanation Paramount provided when it announced in July that Colbert's program would go off the air in May as it was seeking approval from the Federal Communications Commission for its $US8.4 billion ($A11.9 billion) merger with Skydance Media.

Reuters and other outlets reported earlier this month that the FCC is opening an investigation into whether ABC's The View daytime talk show violated equal time rules for interviews with political candidates after an appearance by Talarico.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly pushed Carr to take action against US broadcasters and criticised networks for what he views as one-sided coverage.

Colbert posted the interview on the program's YouTube page, where it has about two million views and millions more on other platforms.

CBS said in a statement that the decision followed "legal guidance that the broadcast could trigger the FCC equal-time rule for two other candidates, including Rep Jasmine Crockett, and presented options for how the equal time for other candidates could be fulfilled".

CBS added the show "decided to present the interview through its YouTube channel with on-air promotion on the broadcast rather than potentially providing the equal-time options".

Carr, Paramount Skydance and CBS did not respond to requests for comment on Colbert's remarks. The White House declined to comment.