Broadcast networks pivoted away from sports around Joe Biden presidential news

There’s always a discussion to be had on whether news justifies breaking into sports on broadcast networks. Broadcast networks have long been cited as a tremendous reach boost for sports, and that’s certainly notable in an era of increased cord-cutting and declining multichannel video programming distributor (cable, satellite, or virtual) descriptions. But broadcast networks are also far more likely than cable ones to bail on sports content for news or weather updates. And the latest case there happened with President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race Sunday.

That announcement, from the @JoeBiden account on X/Twitter (but quickly redistributed without credit by the likes of Shams Charania), took many by surprise. In cable news, it meant anchors like CNN’s Wolf Blitzer got called in from enjoying cocktails named after them. And, on broadcast TV, it led to all four broadcast networks at least briefly cutting away from scheduled sports programming.

At NBC, that meant a move away from the NASCAR race, The Brickyard 400, with pre-race coverage there shifting to USA. (However, NBC returned to the race ahead of the green flag.) At Fox, that meant a bump for a Round of 32 game in The Basketball Tournament, which instead only aired on the Fox Sports app and FoxSports.com for much of the contest. At CBS, the LPGA Dana Open tournament shifted to CBSSports.com and Paramount+. And at ABC, the much-hyped NFL FLAG Championships got bumped to ESPN2 (thanks to NBA Summer League games on ESPN).

None of that is necessarily worth criticism. This was certainly notable news. And another element here is that while these sports all have their own fanbases, this Sunday was a remarkably low day for sports on broadcast television in terms of expected audiences. So it’s definitely understandable why all these networks made the call to pivot to news, a call that might have been harder if there had been sports with wider expected fanbases set to air. (The biggest thing here by far is NASCAR with their notable Brickyard 400 race, and it’s significant that NBC went away from news and back to that more quickly than the other broadcast networks.)

The setup here is worth consideration in terms of the overall discussion around sports on broadcast television, though. Broadcast TV coverage has many benefits for sports, especially in an era where cable networks’ household numbers are dwindling. But when something significant happens, many broadcast network affiliates are going to cut away from sports, as we saw recently with the attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump, and as we’ve often seen with weather alerts. Cable networks are far safer bets for uninterrupted sports broadcasts.

That doesn’t mean that all sports should return to cable broadcasts. Indeed, the overall access argument is well in favor of sports on broadcast TV. But it’s worth keeping in mind that putting a sports event on a broadcast network comes with a significant risk of news preemption. And Sunday was the latest example there.