I get that there's a lot going on, and normally I don't have a problem with the President coming on television to tell us what's up, but I think Obama is looking to get his own weekly show on all four major networks. And I'm sure Fox is just thrilled that he's been picking Tuesday's at 8/7 Central to speak. If you're going to interrupt our regularly scheduled programming, why not do it during the biggest show on television? Gives you the best chance of pissing off the largest number of people who didn't know you were going to be on instead of Ryan Seacrest.Now with the NCAA playoffs also starting this week, there was a big question as to how the networks were going to respond. Fox's American Idol is a live show, so it's not like it can just be moved around the schedule without some prep work being done. That said, once again Idol will be shifting both of its episodes back a day to accommodate the Presidential Address. Let's take a look at how the networks are responding to this sweeps interruption.
ABC - They have the least to lose, quite literally, as all they have to do is not air the back-to-back episodes of According to Jim they had planned for the 8/7c hour. The rest of their night can continue as normal with the Dancing With the Stars results show at 9/8c, followed by the season finale of Primetime: What Would You Do?
CBS - CBS has decided to bump their 10/9c staple Without a Trace's new episode to next week. And after the President's Address they'll be shifting both of their early shows back an hour, putting NCIS at 9/8c and The Mentalist at 10/9c. With Without a Trace being rumored to be on the bubble for renewal it makes sense to keep the stronger shows on the air, and it gives CBS a chance to see how they might perform in the later hours.
Fox - With the most dramatic changes needed due to the format of American Idol, Fox is dumping a House repeat after the President's Address on Tuesday. Then, on Wednesday we'll get the full two-hour Idol performance show. Thursday's results show is back in the 8/7c slot, followed by a new Hell's Kitchen, which should be good for that show. This does, however, put Idol right in the crossfire of CBS's NCAA coverage. Lie to Me and Bones will simply not air this week at all.
NBC - The fourth place network is following CBS's lead, shifting back their two-hour The BIggest Loser to the 9/8c slot after the Presidential Address on Tuesday. That pre-empts Law & Order: Special Victims Unit for the week, which is one of the network's stronger performers.
Considering this is sweeps time and things are schedule in very specific ways both in story content and for advertisers you just know the networks are hating that Obama is taking to the airwaves so soon after his last speech. And apparently, word is he'll be doing more of this.
[via The Futon Critic]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-19-2009 @ 5:32PM
Wii60 said...
I'd like to give the President some leeway on this even though I'm a Republican. The people being aware of the President and his policies is a GOOD thing. However, I don't see what he can add to the conversation at this point that wouldn't be better left to his press secretary. You can rip AIG just as effectively though the Press room.
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3-19-2009 @ 5:46PM
Karen said...
OH just give him his own show. That is what he wants anyway. Fame, power.....clearly he's not interested in what is best for the country.
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3-19-2009 @ 5:40PM
Charlie Conner said...
maybe he's just updating everyone on his NCAA picks...I can imagine him running his NCAA pool...and still running the country!
in all seriousness, his frequent chats with the country is a refreshing change from the previous administration, with all it's secrecy and paranoia...
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3-19-2009 @ 6:00PM
Michael said...
I swear he just loves to hear himself speak... I personally can't stand listening to his twisted rhetoric and doublespeak. As Wii60 said, anything he's going to say has either been said ad nauseum by his policy wonks or can be handled just as effectively in a memo. No matter what, he's not going to tell the truth anymore than ANYONE in Washington will. They're all a bunch of crooks and liars and its tragic that we have to sit and take what they demand of us as taxpayers with no real control over their corruption.
Vote the crooks out - ALL of them!
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3-19-2009 @ 6:09PM
khamel said...
if this were the summer then id say talk all night long, but really mr president, how will america live go to work on wednesday morning without seeing a bunch of moderately talented singers perform?
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3-19-2009 @ 6:36PM
Ralph said...
Thank goodness for DVDs, DVRs, etc as an escape from the propaganda machine. Is it 2012 yet?
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3-19-2009 @ 7:12PM
judy said...
I am SO sick of his face, almost weekly on TV, six times in the daily paper, 14 times on the internet. Please, give us a break.
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3-19-2009 @ 7:28PM
Cee said...
Enough already. This is just grandstanding. This is about appearing connected with the regular American joe. The truth is, everything he says can be just as effective on the cable news shows, or a sunday morning political news show, or during the daily press conferences or even an early evening telecast, like around 6 or 7 pm.
This is about interrupting people at the highlight of peoples evenings, when we are trying to escape the mess of our daily lives and he wants to make us feel like he's relating and just one of the guys.
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3-19-2009 @ 8:02PM
xnifex said...
Fucking Obama! Not Bones! stupid fox... just cancel AI for the damn week.... put back on Bones!
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3-19-2009 @ 8:43PM
dennis phillips said...
all you repulicains would rather have it like b4 when u just stuck your heads in the sand and hoped the bush boneheads were looking out for your best intrests.Thats what got us in this mess in the first place!If the prez has something good to say ..i say let him speak whenever he wants to!I'TS ABOUT THE ECONOMY IDIOTS!
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3-19-2009 @ 9:55PM
No1Dad said...
"I'TS ABOUT THE ECONOMY IDIOTS!"
What about the economy? It sucks. We already know that. What can he possibly tell us in primetime that he couldn't just easily tell us on Meet The Press?
3-20-2009 @ 1:36AM
S. Romano said...
The Teleprompter Don is on his way out. The way things are going, he will be the longest running Lame Duck President in the history of this country. If the imbeciles who voted for him really want CHANGE, then vote for term limits on all the good 'ol boys who have been in Congress forever. That's the change we need. Obama is nothing more than a stooge and a puppet for the Dems and Liberals who pushed his nomination. Let me state that it's not that I don't like Liberals, it's just that I really don't like Liberals. It's time to take our country back.
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3-21-2009 @ 1:10AM
Ed U Kator said...
You had it for 8yrs and made a fine mess. Thanks...but no thanks.
3-20-2009 @ 1:40AM
CC said...
I'm tired of seeing him on tv all the time. Regardless of who it is (Democract, Republican, whoever) - do you really need to update us when there is nothing to update?
Besides, I don't know why everyone thinks he's a great orator. If it wasn't for the teleprompter, he sounds lost and confused. Luckily on the West coast, we don't have to see him during primetime (although we get stuck with repeats too, since they delay the new episodes).
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