TV Execs Salivating Over Sarah Palin

Matt Cooper reports from St. Paul: The television networks had worried that the Republican convention might not be a ratings winner. Not any more. TV producers I've spoken with here at the G.O.P. convention expect huge ratings for vice presidential pick Sarah Palin's speech to the R.N.C. tomorrow night.

It should be especially good news for News Corporation's (NWS) Fox News Channel, the choice of conservative-leaning viewers. But it should also be good news for CNN, a division of Time Warner (TWX), and General Electric's (GE) MSNBC, a division of NBC-Universal. We'll have to see. Nielsen did not do convention ratings last night because the proceedings were over for the evening and the cable networks were all about Hurricane Gustav.

Meanwhile, the Republican convention is back on. Tonight, Joe Lieberman and Fred Thompson dominate prime time with speeches about John McCain, the man. Lieberman (a Democrat-turned-Independent who eight years ago was the Democrats' vice presidential nominee) will make the case why Democrats and Republicans should cross party lines to support McCain. Tomorrow night will be dominated by Palin.

And President Bush? He'll speak to the convention tonight via satellite from The White House. He'll speak for just 10 minutes from the East Wing of the White House before the premier 10 p.m. eastern hour when the broadcast networks tune in to the convention. An unpopular Bush was always going to pushed off stage. Now he's getting the most diminished role for a sitting president since 1968 when Lyndon Johnson didn't attend the riotous Democratic Convention in Chicago (Johnson was advised not to attend for his own safety).

It's not that bad for Bush, who is still popular with delegates here. As Borat would say of the rest of the country, "Not so much."

Comments

[Tom B:]

Yea, they'll show the air-head and NOT run the footage of peace demonstrators and JOURNALISTS being arrested and roughed-up by Republican rent-a-cops without visible badges.

2008 Sep 03 09:50 AM

[snowboy:]

Sarah will slay them tonight verbally,she is a great speaker and has something important to say to all of America,the rumor mongering group cannot sully her reputation by nit picking about her past in Alaska and her family although they will try.

2008 Sep 03 05:01 PM

[paul:]

Tom B should grow up and mature some. The rent-a-cops are no more owned by the RNC than the rent-a-cops that arrested many in Denver were owned by the DNC.

2008 Sep 03 07:07 PM