March 18, 2009 10:18 PM
More Obama tyrrany - preempting primetime
Networks reluctantly shuffle for Obama speech
Networks once again are pulling their shows over to the side of the road to make room for the lights and sirens of president Barack Obama's latest primetime address.
Obama will take to the air next Tuesday evening -- bumping the most popular show on television, "American Idol." Fulfilling their scheduling civic duty is starting to seem increasingly cumbersome to broadcasters, however. Between a struggling economy and ratings sagging in midseason, every interruption costs networks advertising dollars and momentum.
"At a time when we're struggling not only financially but to build audiences, this doesn't help on either front," one network executive said. "These repeated interruptions -- and the rumor of even more to come -- really make it difficult to build audience flow and loyalty. We will all lose one or two million dollars for this."
The presidential election resulted in a fall season regularly interrupted by political news coverage, followed by primetime inauguration coverage, then two primetime speeches since then about the economy.
Full story here.
Posted in Obama Nation | Permalink
Comments
Has it really only been 2 months? sigh.
Posted by: samantha | March 19, 2009 1:09 AM
Unreal! I have no sympathy for any of the networks though, they surely didn't mind all the coverage a few months ago and help put him in the office of the presidency. Maybe they'll get annoyed enough to start reporting everything and not glossing over some of the major issues. That would be a way for them to increase their audience. Tell/cover the whole truth!
Posted by: Margaret | March 19, 2009 7:35 AM
Why do I get the sneaking suspicion that the next step is the networks charging the US Government for covering these events in the future...
Posted by: Chris Arsenault | March 19, 2009 9:37 AM
Amusing story. Change they could believe in, but not change they can live with, huh?
Posted by: evergreen | March 19, 2009 7:26 PM
