The broadcast news divisions, which have been given only an hour in primetime Tuesday-Thursday of the Republican National Convention, will be skipping the speech from Ann Romney Monday night. The New York Times‘ Jeremy Peters explains:
The networks, which reap considerable advertising dollars even from summer reruns, have told the Romney campaign that they will broadcast an hour of convention coverage on the final three nights — but no more.
Advisers to Mitt Romney, facing a blackout of the opening night program they fastidiously scripted to soften perceptions of the candidate, are angry.
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Of course, the networks have no obligation to do whatever a political campaign wants, and cable news will be televising the speech live, but you get the idea. The broadcasters will also be streaming the speech live on their websites, but that will almost certainly remain a niche thing. After all, with the same exact speech available on now fewer than four different cable news channels, the desire to watch online will likely be minimal.