NBC Actors, Producers Protest Network's Decision to Host Trump Town Hall at Same Time as Biden's ABC Event--2nd Update
16 October 2020 - 3:17AM
Dow Jones News
By Joe Flint
More than one hundred prominent actors, writers and producers
are protesting NBC News's decision to carry a town hall meeting
with President Trump on Thursday night opposite a previously
scheduled Joe Biden town hall on rival ABC News.
In a letter to NBCUniversal Chief Executive Jeff Shell,
NBCUniversal News Group Chairman Cesar Conde and Brian Roberts,
chief executive of NBCU parent Comcast Corp., the group said the
decision to give Mr. Trump such a platform after his refusal to
debate Mr. Biden is "enabling the President's bad behavior while
undercutting the Presidential Debate Commission and doing a
disservice to the American public."
The dueling town halls came about after the Commission on
Presidential Debates canceled the previously scheduled Oct. 15
debate between Messrs. Trump and Biden after the president's
positive test for the coronavirus. The Commission wanted to hold
the debate virtually but Mr. Trump's camp rejected that format.
The letter doesn't criticize NBC for putting the president on
its airwaves, but rather that the network is allowing Mr. Trump to
"counterprogram" his rival.
"We are simply asking that NBC air the President's town hall
either before or after Vice President Biden's so that American
voters can have the opportunity to watch both," the letter
said.
Among the signers of the letter are many prominent current and
former NBCUniversal stars and producers including "This Is Us"
creator Dan Fogelman and cast members Sterling K. Brown, Mandy
Moore and Milo Ventimiglia, as well as "Law & Order: Special
Victims Unit" Executive Producer Neal Baer.
Other well-known members of the creative community that signed
the letter include producer Ryan Murphy and actor-producer Ben
Stiller as well as "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane who
recently signed a large production deal with NBCUniversal.
In a statement Mr. Conde said, "we share in the frustration that
our event will initially air alongside the first half of ABC's
broadcast with Vice President Biden. Our decision is motivated only
by fairness, not business considerations." He noted that NBC
scheduled Mr. Trump at 8 p.m. because it had given the same slot to
Mr. Biden in a previous town hall and it wanted to keep all things
equal between the two candidates. Also, starting at 9 p.m. would
still have conflicted with the ABC broadcast, which lasts for 90
minutes while NBC's is an hourlong event, he added.
"We hope voters will watch both discussions -- ours will be
available at any time, free and on-demand on YouTube, Peacock and
all our digital news platforms," Mr. Conde said.
NBC News tried to persuade ABC News to move its event to later
in the evening, but the request was rebuffed, two people familiar
with the matter said.
The decision of NBC News to carry Mr. Trump's town hall has
caused some turmoil inside the company as well. Some producers and
on-air talent at the company's MSNBC news network were upset that
its sister news unit for its decision, people inside the cable
channel said. MSNBC, which is known for its left-leaning prime time
commentators including Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O'Donnell, will
carry a simulcast of NBC's coverage of Mr. Trump's Town Hall.
An NBC News spokesman declined to comment on any tensions with
MSNBC.
NBC will also carry the event on its CNBC financial-news channel
and its Spanish-language network Telemundo, as it did with its
Biden town hall.
After Mr. Trump rejected holding the Oct. 15 debate virtually,
ABC News, a unit of Walt Disney Co., then landed Mr. Biden for a
town-hall style meeting to be held in Philadelphia at 8 p.m. NBC
News subsequently negotiated its Trump event for the same time.
Both events are employing safety measures to avoid any spread of
the coronavirus. Mr. Trump and his interviewer Savannah Guthrie of
NBC's "Today" show will be 12 feet apart. The audience will be
small and has been tested and will be masked. A similar approach is
being taken by ABC News for its event.
Write to Joe Flint at joe.flint@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 15, 2020 12:02 ET (16:02 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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