How the President's News Conference Ended Up Live on Four Networks
By JACQUES STEINBERG
Published: April 29, 2005
In a showdown that featured inside-the-Beltway lobbying and bare-knuckle boardroom negotiating, Donald J. Trump and President Bush effectively squared off yesterday in pursuit of the same parcel of real estate - a piece of the NBC-TV prime-time lineup. And it was the president who blinked first.
But in the end, the president's aides appeared to be every bit as canny as those representing Mr. Trump. The decision by the White House to move up the starting time of its news conference by a half-hour - a move that NBC sought, at least in part to protect the starting time of Mr. Trump's "Apprentice" show - set off a chain of events that wound up garnering the president live coverage on all four major broadcast networks.
The decision, announced in the evening, had the effect of putting sufficient pressure on CBS-TV and Fox Broadcasting, to prompt them to announce that they, too, would carry the news conference live on their main networks, reversing decisions that they had announced publicly earlier in the day.
ABC had announced early in the day that it intended to carry the president live, regardless of the starting time.
The president's aides had intended to begin the session at 8:30 Eastern Daylight Time, which - had NBC covered it live - would have delayed the start of Mr. Trump's "Apprentice" show at 9 o'clock, something the network was loath to do.
After lobbying by NBC executives, the White House announced that it had agreed to move the president's starting time to 8 o'clock. That enabled NBC to show the president live while protecting Mr. Trump at 9 and the start of the highly-rated "E.R." show at 10.
For all the networks, the very selection of last night by the White House, regardless of the time, posed a dilemma. It was first night of the so-called May sweeps period, one of three main times in the year in which network ratings are closely tracked, with an eye on setting advertising rates for the next year.
It was that timing, as much as the White House suggestion that Mr. Bush had no major announcement to make, that gave the networks pause about going live, several executives said.
For CBS and Fox Broadcasting, the choice, at least initially, was relatively simple. However rare the prime-time appearance may have been, neither thought that it could afford to pre-empt the popular one-hour shows that they broadcast beginning at 8 p.m. For CBS, it was "Survivor." For Fox, it was "The O.C."
Both networks announced early yesterday that they did not intend to broadcast the president's remarks live on their main networks. The calculus was relatively clear-cut for ABC, as well. It decided to pre-empt a movie, "Sweet Home Alabama" with Reese Witherspoon, to show the president, followed by an expanded edition of its newsmagazine "Prime Time Live."
Nowhere was the choice more complicated than at NBC, which is fighting mightily to avoid ending the television season that began last fall ranked fourth, at least in terms of viewers ages 18 to 49.
Had it decided to carry the news conference, NBC would have had to bump, or at least delay, a comedy, "Will and Grace," at 8:30, and delay the start of "The Apprentice," among its most popular shows.
Like a game of dominoes, a delay in starting "The Apprentice" would have delayed the start of "E.R.," also among its most popular shows, and that could have then jeopardized the starts of local newscasts, at least on the East Coast.
In the end, NBC decided that it could afford to pre-empt "Will and Grace," but not "The Apprentice."
At 5 p.m., the White House released this one-sentence statement: "Due to the complications of network programming, the White House is moving the time of tonight's news conference to 8:00 p.m."
In a telephone interview soon afterward, a spokeswoman for NBC, Rebecca Marks, expressed satisfaction with the change.
"We had a discussion with the White House about the difficulties of scheduling an 8:30 press conference," Ms. Marks said. "And they responded by moving it to 8 o'clock."
The decision, however, posed a dilemma for CBS in particular. If ABC and NBC, its rivals among the so-called Big 3, were pre-empting their programming at 8 for the president, how could CBS not do the same?
Soon after the decisions by the White House and NBC were announced, CBS said it, too, would broadcast the news conference at 8. It decided to move "Survivor" to 9, pre-empting the wildly popular "C.S.I.," which moved to 10. At least in the eastern and central time zones, a drama, "Without a Trace," usually at 10, would be bumped entirely. CBS officials declined to comment on why they changed course.
Similarly, Fox had no comment on its change. It decided to reschedule an original episode of "The O.C." to next Thursday, leaving intact the remainder of its Thursday lineup, including back-to-back episodes of "The Simple Life," starring Paris Hilton, at 9 and 9:30.
During the news conference, Mr. Bush suggested that he had some familiarity with the intricate negotiations that resulted in his four-network appearance.
A minute or two before 9 p.m., he called for the "final question" and then told the assembled reporters, "I don't want to cut into any of those TV shows that are getting ready to air, for the sake of the economy."
But by then, NBC and CBS, at least, had already cut away from the White House.
Their anchors, Brian Williams on NBC and Bob Schieffer on CBS, were in the process of ending the networks' coverage, so that their entertainment programming could resume, on schedule, at 9.
Elisabeth Bumiller contributed reporting for this article.
(Thanks NYTimes)
Published: April 29, 2005
In a showdown that featured inside-the-Beltway lobbying and bare-knuckle boardroom negotiating, Donald J. Trump and President Bush effectively squared off yesterday in pursuit of the same parcel of real estate - a piece of the NBC-TV prime-time lineup. And it was the president who blinked first.
But in the end, the president's aides appeared to be every bit as canny as those representing Mr. Trump. The decision by the White House to move up the starting time of its news conference by a half-hour - a move that NBC sought, at least in part to protect the starting time of Mr. Trump's "Apprentice" show - set off a chain of events that wound up garnering the president live coverage on all four major broadcast networks.
The decision, announced in the evening, had the effect of putting sufficient pressure on CBS-TV and Fox Broadcasting, to prompt them to announce that they, too, would carry the news conference live on their main networks, reversing decisions that they had announced publicly earlier in the day.
ABC had announced early in the day that it intended to carry the president live, regardless of the starting time.
The president's aides had intended to begin the session at 8:30 Eastern Daylight Time, which - had NBC covered it live - would have delayed the start of Mr. Trump's "Apprentice" show at 9 o'clock, something the network was loath to do.
After lobbying by NBC executives, the White House announced that it had agreed to move the president's starting time to 8 o'clock. That enabled NBC to show the president live while protecting Mr. Trump at 9 and the start of the highly-rated "E.R." show at 10.
For all the networks, the very selection of last night by the White House, regardless of the time, posed a dilemma. It was first night of the so-called May sweeps period, one of three main times in the year in which network ratings are closely tracked, with an eye on setting advertising rates for the next year.
It was that timing, as much as the White House suggestion that Mr. Bush had no major announcement to make, that gave the networks pause about going live, several executives said.
For CBS and Fox Broadcasting, the choice, at least initially, was relatively simple. However rare the prime-time appearance may have been, neither thought that it could afford to pre-empt the popular one-hour shows that they broadcast beginning at 8 p.m. For CBS, it was "Survivor." For Fox, it was "The O.C."
Both networks announced early yesterday that they did not intend to broadcast the president's remarks live on their main networks. The calculus was relatively clear-cut for ABC, as well. It decided to pre-empt a movie, "Sweet Home Alabama" with Reese Witherspoon, to show the president, followed by an expanded edition of its newsmagazine "Prime Time Live."
Nowhere was the choice more complicated than at NBC, which is fighting mightily to avoid ending the television season that began last fall ranked fourth, at least in terms of viewers ages 18 to 49.
Had it decided to carry the news conference, NBC would have had to bump, or at least delay, a comedy, "Will and Grace," at 8:30, and delay the start of "The Apprentice," among its most popular shows.
Like a game of dominoes, a delay in starting "The Apprentice" would have delayed the start of "E.R.," also among its most popular shows, and that could have then jeopardized the starts of local newscasts, at least on the East Coast.
In the end, NBC decided that it could afford to pre-empt "Will and Grace," but not "The Apprentice."
At 5 p.m., the White House released this one-sentence statement: "Due to the complications of network programming, the White House is moving the time of tonight's news conference to 8:00 p.m."
In a telephone interview soon afterward, a spokeswoman for NBC, Rebecca Marks, expressed satisfaction with the change.
"We had a discussion with the White House about the difficulties of scheduling an 8:30 press conference," Ms. Marks said. "And they responded by moving it to 8 o'clock."
The decision, however, posed a dilemma for CBS in particular. If ABC and NBC, its rivals among the so-called Big 3, were pre-empting their programming at 8 for the president, how could CBS not do the same?
Soon after the decisions by the White House and NBC were announced, CBS said it, too, would broadcast the news conference at 8. It decided to move "Survivor" to 9, pre-empting the wildly popular "C.S.I.," which moved to 10. At least in the eastern and central time zones, a drama, "Without a Trace," usually at 10, would be bumped entirely. CBS officials declined to comment on why they changed course.
Similarly, Fox had no comment on its change. It decided to reschedule an original episode of "The O.C." to next Thursday, leaving intact the remainder of its Thursday lineup, including back-to-back episodes of "The Simple Life," starring Paris Hilton, at 9 and 9:30.
During the news conference, Mr. Bush suggested that he had some familiarity with the intricate negotiations that resulted in his four-network appearance.
A minute or two before 9 p.m., he called for the "final question" and then told the assembled reporters, "I don't want to cut into any of those TV shows that are getting ready to air, for the sake of the economy."
But by then, NBC and CBS, at least, had already cut away from the White House.
Their anchors, Brian Williams on NBC and Bob Schieffer on CBS, were in the process of ending the networks' coverage, so that their entertainment programming could resume, on schedule, at 9.
Elisabeth Bumiller contributed reporting for this article.
(Thanks NYTimes)
posted by Scott Fish at 12:31 AM
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