Yes there was:
I have to believe that this will be the lowest rated yet since pretty much everyone knows that this is all about health care and not much else. I'm not surprised that Fox opted out, and NBC has two cable channels capable of covering it without running it on the network.After some hesitation and a time shift, three major broadcast networks have agreed to carry Barack Obama's latest primetime news conference.
The event was announced Friday afternoon as Obama battles to bolster congressional support for an ambitious health-care overhaul while facing dropping approval ratings.
But broadcasters are struggling with falling approval ratings of their own — Nielsen’s audience measurements show viewership in a summertime slump.
The conference would mark the president's fourth primetime press event since he took office six months ago. Such interruptions tend to wreak havoc with network schedules and can cost millions in lost advertising.
CBS, which airs only repeats that evening, agreed early Monday to cover the conference.
But for NBC, Fox and ABC, the decision was tougher. During a summer that’s otherwise strewn with repeats, Wednesday includes all their top-rated reality programs.
Fox declined to air the press conference outright. NBC and ABC fell into line late Monday after the White House shifted the event’s time from the previously announced 9 p.m. to the lesser-watched hour of 8 p.m.
The stakes were especially high for NBC, which airs the most-watched show of the summer, "America's Got Talent," at 9 p.m., and this week it includes a heavily promoted interview with "Britain's Got Talent" singing sensation Susan Boyle.
Sources said that NBC demonstrated reluctance to carry Obama's news conference live and, faced with the prospect of only two major broadcasters (CBS and ABC) covering it, the White House moved its start to 8 p.m.
The Big 3 just gave away 90 minutes of advertising and will get a boring health care lecture in return.
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1 comment:
Why would anyone even waste their time watching a rerun of the Obama Follies on Health Care when you can find so many other good things to see or do. This guy just loves to try and ram his programs down the taxpayer's throat while he has a ear to ear smirk on his face. If the News Networks lose money due to a lack of advertising money coming in it serves them right.
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