Networks May Scale Back Convention Coverage For Obama's Speech

Politico:

Major television networks are considering curtailing coverage of the Democratic National Convention after Monday's announcement that Barack Obama will accept his party's nomination in a Denver stadium.

According to several broadcast executives, the networks will still cover all the major speeches. But beyond that, all options are open as they look for savings to balance out the anticipated costs surrounding the stadium event. The acceptance event is an unexpected departure from the traditional convention hall format they had spent months planning for.

Network executives expect Obama's relatively late-breaking decision to speak at Invesco Field at Mile High, a 76,000-seat football stadium, could add hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs to already cash-strapped news divisions. Each network has budgeted millions to cover the political conventions, but that spending is already accounted for in specific costs ranging from hotel rooms to staffing to building convention platforms.

Read the whole story: Politico

Comments

[nanoscare]

Ask the three network nightly news anchors to donate the money from their inflated salaries. A couple hundred grand? Pffft. No wonder your new operations are strapped for cash. Start running more stories on the dangers of prescription medication­s.... then stop and boost your ad rates.

[TchoupitoulasCanal]

Oh, like this is really going to happen. Their logic stinks: they're going to be here anyway, and it's not like the stadium is hundreds of miles away. You could slap a hockey puck from the Pepsi Center parking lot and it would bounce west across Interstate 25 and hit Invesco Field, so it's not that big of an inconvenience.

Perhaps the mainstream media needs to take a ride on the Straight Talk Express?

[presto]

They are not cutting back on Obama. They are cutting back on the convention. You know, the part where everyone else talks.

[SeanGardner]

Its still going to be an awe-inspiring sight, and whatever network doesn't cover Obama's speech will lose in the ratings game.

The emotional and visual impact of his speech on TV is going to be long-lasting in the hearts and minds of every viewer.

Go Barack!

[presto]

Dude...

[VivaZapata]

what a phony excuse to slight the democratic convention! they know damn well more people will be tuning in to hear Obama's speech, whether they're for or against him. on that night, they will actually make money.

[presto]

They are not cutting back on the Obama speech. They are cutting back on the rest of the week. You know, the Clinton part.

[whizkid]

I had to hit the link over five times to get away from "the whole story" and comment.
But yes. Again the Clintons and our public have been abused by the media and the DNC.

[FogBelter]

Your candidate lost ... she ran a lousy campaign ... she never presented credentials she could do the job other than being married to a former President ... She was a weak candidate and she would have lost in November whether she was a woman or a man.

Play the game all you like, no one needed to do anything to the Clinton Campaign for it to lose ... they did it to themselves. Hillary is out of it this cycle. Even if this PUMA stuff was something other than a GOP scam, Hillary, as the GOP knows, has no cash to run a general election campaign ... she's broke ... the DNC is broke ... and Obama could either return his donations or do as Hillary is and ask his supporters to roll the money over to his Senatorial Campaign fund ...

Translation => Hillary has no money for a General Election run ... she'd be trounced, even by mediocre McCain ... try and consider reality from time to time.

[Vermontah]

Geez will you get over it already? Abused by the media and DNC? What a load of garbage. The Democrats were all behind Hillary until she, Bubba and Mark Penn completely and totally screwed up their campaign.

She lost because not because of some vast left-right­-and-cente­r conspiracy involving the MSM, DNC and my Aunt Betty. She lost because she wasn't a good enough candidate for president.

Now please stop whining and go out and work for Obama's victory in November, please.

[doctorwang]

You know, I never did trust your Aunt Betty... ; )

[presto]

How could anyone resist your argument?

[blaqntelligence]

Um, okay.

[doctorwang]

Don't worry whizkid. I've heard they've set up a special crying section in the 'red zone' for any PUMA members who'd like to attend.

[presto]

At the bottom of the lead-in above, there is a link that says "read the whole story here". It would really be nice if people would actually do that before launching off into indignant rants. No one is suggesting that Obama's speech will not be covered. If anyone gets dissed, it will most likely be the Clintons earlier in the week. Or other stalwarts of the party that no one here is interested in. So this story should actually trigger unbridled joy on Huff po instead of all this hysteria.

[sandtats]

And the headline reads: "Networks may scale back coverage for OBAMA'S convention speech." Obama...no­t Hillary Clinton. The Clinton loving MSM will make sure their EVERY word; every red faced, finger wag and lip bite will be covered, and rehashed, and replayed, and drooled over. Please. Is it ever NOT about HC for you people?

[presto]

Dude...I said read the story, not the headline. Huff -po headlines have no discernible relationship to the story.

[whizkid]

Dean and Donna have quite the star don't they?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AAjP59hUQY

[TheRebel82]

C-Span is by far the best!

[Puddin]

Thank God for the cable networks..­.I don't/will not watch much network TV.

[plainsman]

Maybe they catch a feed from the cameras on the black helicopters circling above.

[Daly]

Who needs em? O is the man that the networks love to hate; he is the news and to say that they will not cover the speech is noise. You can bet international coverage will be there and dang I've gotta get busy with the Spanish lessons because telemundo will no doubt be on hand too.

Networks are playing a game where they learned recently that outsourcing can and will affect them too there is a reason that we cannot easily view English language broadcast of other countries; protectionism by the liars, soon Murdock (worshipper of $) will dump the expensive blow dried and go the route of faster, younger, smarter I predict that Fox is a relic .

English language news from other sources are without overt agenda focusing on just the facts.

Remember the wringing of hands by the print media not getting to spin their Obama talking points with his decision to announce direct to his own website?

[whizkid]

Of course they will report how many bottles of 40 malt are sold.

[youknowwhat]

Man, are the major networks in the tank for Mccain or what?

[LiberTLover]

He bends over and they fight over who puckers up first.

[presto]

How does that logic work? Cable does the speech - 2 or 3 stations at a minimum and the networks can't because of budgetary considerations. So they lose advertising dollars. How does that possibly help McCain? Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

[MargaretO]

Gee, perhaps Rush Limbaugh could take a little cut in pay.

[whizkid]

It could be because the DNC and Axelrove have acted to remove our voices and the drama from the process to produce a Nuremberg rally.
Not their job really to assist.

[FogBelter]

Come on, why don't you PUMA folk just admit you're a GOP front organization?

[presto]

Why does the GOP need a front organization? Are they a secret society or something?

[doctorwang]

They're a bunch of "Swift Boat" wannabees. Except they don't have the organizational skills or the resources or, for that matter, the intelligence. That's why they've come up with this Nuremberg nonsense (PUMA's talking point of the week). It just shows how irrelevant and desperate they've become. Next week they'll be using some other load of childish cr@p. Just point and laugh at them....ev­entually they'll go away.