Networks split coverage of Trump address after license threats

President Donald Trump’s Thursday night address forced major television networks to decide how much live airtime to give a speech expected to include false claims about the 2020 election, Fortune reported. The decision carried added pressure because Trump also suggested networks that did not carry him live could face sanctions.

The result was uneven coverage across broadcast, cable and streaming outlets. According to Fortune, many newsrooms settled on some form of live fact-checking, either during the speech or immediately after it.

Trump used part of the address to attack networks that did not air the speech in full, singling out “NBC and ABC fake news” and saying they avoided the speech because they “don’t like the topic.” He also claimed, without evidence, that media outlets were “part of a plot.”

Trump said, “Fraud like this should mean a revocation of their licenses,” referring to his unsupported claims about the 2020 election. Fortune noted that there is no evidence of fraud in the 2020 election.

Networks took different paths

CNN did not carry the speech live during Kaitlan Collins’ program. Collins told viewers the network was withholding live coverage because of Trump’s “well-documented history” of falsehoods, while CNN brought in analysts and fact-checkers during the program, Fortune reported.

Fox News and Fox Broadcasting aired the address live. ABC and NBC stayed with scheduled entertainment programming on their broadcast networks, while making live coverage available on ABC News Live, NBC News NOW and ABC News Radio, according to Fortune.

CBS interrupted a rerun of “Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage” for a special report anchored by Tony Dokoupil. Fortune reported that CBS joined the speech several minutes after it began and left before Trump finished.

MS NOW initially carried Trump’s remarks, then moved away from the speech after 17 minutes for analysis on Jen Psaki’s program. Fortune reported that Psaki at one point used a split screen, with Trump shown muted while she spoke.

By the end of the address, Fortune reported, Fox News was the only top network still carrying it live.

Pressure came before and during the speech

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had urged networks earlier Thursday to air the address live, Fortune reported. Fox News host Sean Hannity also criticized major networks that declined to carry it in full, saying that was “pretty unheard of for a primetime address for a president.”

Fortune noted that broadcast networks have previously declined live prime-time coverage of presidential speeches, including Barack Obama’s 2014 immigration address and Joe Biden’s 2022 speech on democracy.

The coverage fight unfolded amid broader tension between Trump and news organizations, Fortune reported. The outlet cited sanctions against White House press corps members, Federal Communications Commission actions and lawsuits as parts of that conflict.

Fortune reported that FCC Chair Brendan Carr, appointed by Trump, has opened early reviews of licenses for some ABC-owned stations and threatened to revoke the long-held equal-time exemption for “The View.”

Robert Thompson, director of Syracuse University’s Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture, told Fortune that the evening was unusual because reporters described and quoted from the speech while showing relatively little of it. Thompson said networks should carry such remarks in full when a president announces a major address, including when falsehoods are expected, because the public has a civic interest in hearing exactly what is said.

This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.