All four of the major American broadcast networks decided not to air US president Barack Obama’s speech announcing a major shift in immigration policy. It was a striking—and, to many people, confounding—choice, due to the magnitude of the news and because the networks have generally aired similar speeches live.
To put the decision in perspective, here’s what the networks decided was too important to preempt:
Ratings on these networks have been falling for years, leading executives to make increasingly conservative decisions. They have doubled down on tired but surefire hit shows and resorted to gimmicks like live musicals. That’s the context in which the networks chose not to air the speech—which, in fairness, could be seen on free over-the-air networks like PBS and Univision (in Spanish), as well as cable TV networks and the internet. Some local networks in parts of the country with large Hispanic populations also chose to air it in spite of their parent network’s decision.
