President Barack Obama's immigration speech is scheduled to be made in less than three hours at 8 p.m. EST, but the four major TV networks will not be airing that prime time immigration address Thursday evening.
Officials from ABC, CBS, and Fox told The Hill that Obama's speech will not be broadcast on their networks. CNN also said that NBC will not be playing the address either, however most cable news networks and Spanish-language networks, Univision and Telemundo, are expected to carry Obama's speech.
The White House did not officially request that the networks cover the address after they got the impression that they would not do so, one network source told The Hill. The speech coincides with a coveted prime-time hour when each network has their hit shows running. November is also an important month for ratings since during the "sweep" month, ratings are used to dictate direct advertising rates. ABC is running the mid-season finale for "Grey's Anatomy," CBS is showing "The Big Bang Theory," NBC has the reality show "The Biggest Loser" and Fox has Bones scheduled.
However, the White House doesn't believe it is unusual for a high-profile speech to not be broadcast live on the main networks, with an official telling The Hill, "It's not unusual for us to have off-the-record conversations with news organizations about events at the White House."
The official said the White House is "confident" Obama's address will receive "ample attention" from the media.
Obama announced the address Wednesday, and said, "everybody agrees that our immigration system is broken," and "I'm going to be laying out the things that I can do with my lawful authority as president to make the system work better."
Specific details of the president's plan are unknown, but many believe he is set to grant amnesty to up to 5 million illegal immigrants.
