ABC News and NBC News both announced Thursday that they will carry President Donald Trump’s 9 p.m. ET speech live on their respective streaming news services while limiting broadcast network coverage, underscoring how the television news industry’s approach to presidential addresses has evolved in the streaming era.
ABC News said it will air the speech live on ABC News Live and ABC News Radio with anchored coverage. The organization said it will also cover the address in its regularly scheduled network newscasts and emphasized that its Special Report team is prepared to interrupt ABC’s primetime lineup “should significant developments occur.”
NBC News, meanwhile, said it will stream the president’s remarks live on NBC News NOW before airing a special report on the NBC broadcast network after the speech is over.
The decisions suggest the networks are increasingly relying on their live streaming news platforms as the primary destination for live presidential events while preserving entertainment or sports programming on their broadcast networks unless developments warrant breaking in.
Trump announced earlier this week that he would deliver a national address at 9 p.m. ET Thursday, though he has not publicly detailed what he plans to discuss.
Streaming news services such as ABC News Live, NBC News NOW and CBS News 24/7 now give broadcasters a secondary option, allowing them to provide uninterrupted live coverage for viewers seeking it without automatically preempting regularly scheduled network programming.
CBS News had not announced its programming plans as of Thursday afternoon at the time of this posting.
The decisions also come after years of debate inside TV news organizations over how to cover Trump’s live remarks. During his first term, some networks faced criticism for carrying speeches uninterrupted when they included totally false or misleading claims, while others argued that presidential addresses remain newsworthy at their core and should be shown live.
The Trump White House has not disclosed the speech’s subject, though reports indicate he is expected to focus on election security, specifically the 2020 presidential election, while also addressing Iran and other current affairs.
Thursday’s plans reflect a compromise: comprehensive live coverage remains available through streaming news platforms, while broadcast network interruptions are reserved for developments deemed newsworthy enough to warrant breaking into regularly scheduled programming.
