CBS’ early exit shows decisions networks face on impeachment

By DAVID BAUDER
January 21, 2020

NEW YORK (AP) — CBS was the first major network to break away from President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial in the Senate on Tuesday, allowing its viewers to watch their regular afternoon fare instead of a debate over a proposed amendment to subpoena White House documents.

The decision illustrated the on-the-fly judgments television executives will face every day of the trial, juggling concerns over millions of dollars in advertising revenue, news purists cognizant of the weight of history and angry soap opera fans.

Uncertainty over the Senate’s schedule from hour to hour, much less day to day, complicates things even further.

The decisions were easier when ABC, CBS and NBC dominated the landscape and were very cognizant of their public service responsibility. Now viewers have options — cable networks from CNN to C-SPAN and streaming services — if they want to follow the trial. While Tuesday’s session was historic, opening the third impeachment trial ever in the United States, it will still a while before the meat of the case was examined.

Yet it was noticed when CBS cut off the trial around 3:15 p.m. ET, while rivals ABC and NBC stuck with it.

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