Media May Curtail Convention Coverage

By Kevin Robinson in News on Jul 9, 2008 6:26PM

After Obama's announcement that he will give his acceptance speech at the 76,000 seat Mile High Stadium, several major news networks are saying that they may have to curtail coverage of the Democratic National Convention to cover the costs associated with the speech.

The networks have already budgeted millions of dollars to cover the convention, and a departure in the script this late in the game could add hundreds of thousands of dollars to their overhead. Much of that money goes to renting hotel rooms, building stages and using equipment. “We're trying to figure out ways to cover what we need to cover and still stay in our budget,” Bob Murphy, the executive in charge of ABC's convention coverage told Politico. “The change in the schedule clearly has put some very severe cost issues on the table and we are trying to figure out how to deal with that.” In fact, many networks are saying that covering the event may have to come out of their election coverage budget. Other options being considered are a reduction in media staff at the convention, including anchors live on location. “We are still planning to carry the most significant appearances and speeches, from Monday on, in primetime,” said one network executive. But “it doesn’t seem smart to invest in a full anchor setup at both locations when the candidate is only going to show at one location.” [Ed note: TV One will only be covering the Democratic convention.]