ABC, CBS, and NBC refusing to air Obama’s speech tonight

NBC says it won’t be airing the president tonight, but that it will be airing The Biggest Loser instead. Don’t they realize the contradiction here?

CBS DC – ABC, CBS and NBC decided against covering President Barack Obama’s speech on immigration live on Thursday, although the Spanish-language Univision network is delaying its telecast of the Latin Grammy Awards to show the address.

The news networks CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC all planned to air Obama live.

Obama is planning to speak at 8 p.m. EST to announce that he is ordering federal action on immigration, angering Republican leaders in Congress.

The major broadcast networks generally carry presidential speeches on matters of national security and other important issues. But there can be a reluctance in executive suites if an anticipated address is seen as heavily political in nature.

It’s not clear if that’s the reasoning here. CBS News, through a spokeswoman, said it declined to comment on editorial decisions. ABC News also declined comment, and NBC News did not have an immediate response to a query.

While the president is speaking, CBS will air “The Big Bang Theory,” television’s top-rated comedy. ABC will show an episode of “Grey’s Anatomy,” while NBC promises a sand-pile challenge on “The Biggest Loser” in that time slot.


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