Presidential Press Conference = Schedule Changes in the U.S.

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U.S. President George W. Bush, as most presidents do, held a press conference during prime time of Sweeps period (the most important periods of the TV season are “Sweeps” where advertiser rates are set by networks, and often shows feature special episodes and/or guest stars). On Tuesday the White House told the networks the President would hold a press conference at 8:30 p.m. Thursday, but the White House changed the timing after what the NY Times and other sources say were last-minute discussions with NBC and others, and at 4 or 5 Thursday made it 8 p.m. CBS and NBC jumped away from the press conference in time for a 9 p.m. “Survivor” and “The Apprentice,” respectively: about 1 or 2 questions before the conference was over. The President himself joked about having to finish up so the TV shows could start as “it’s good for the economy.” FOX aired the final question, then quickly segued into “The Simple Life,” and ABC was the only major broadcast network to provide post-conference analysis (the cable news nets and PBS carried it in full). The only time a presidential press conference HAS to preempt programming is during national emergency, but this compromise seems to have worked out for everyone for the most part.

On the East Coast, here’s how the major networks shifted their schedules around to allow the president to have the 8-9 p.m. EDT timeslot:

FOX

The new episode of “The O.C.” was postponed to next week, with “The Simple Life” (which had replaced “Tru Calling’s” series finale for some reason) airing as scheduled from 9-10.

NBC

“Joey” and “Will & Grace” were postponed to next week, with “The Apprentice” airing as scheduled.

CBS
“Without a Trace” was postponed, with “Survivor” moving to 9 p.m. and “CSI” to 10. Check CBS.com to see if and when the episode of “Trace” will be on.

UPN
“WWE SmackDown!” started in progress at 9 p.m. in New York City, but aired in full in some markets; so far there’s no word if it will be replayed, although UPN often replays such episodes over the weekend.

ABC
The movie was pre-empted for the conference, with an extended version of “Prime Time” airing following.

The WB
Did not broadcast the press conference.

Matthew Michaels is one of the original editors of Pulse Wrestling, and was founding editor of Inside Fights and of Inside Pulse Music.