The four major broadcast networks are changing their Thursday night schedules to accommodate President Joe Biden’s televised speech outlining the U.S. response to Hamas terror attacks on Israel and Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine.
ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox will broadcast the speech live at 8:00 PM ET/CT. As a result, their regular October 19 lineups will be delayed by 15 to 22 minutes, depending on the station in the Eastern and Central time zones. (Some news departments will provide commentary/analysis immediately after the speech.)
The affected programs include ABCs The golden bachelor And Bachelor in paradiseCBS’ big brother and the season finale of The challenge: the USAABC’s graft and Fox’s Hell’s Kitchen And LEGO masters.
The start of NBC’s late night block The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon And Late Night with Seth Meyers and ABCs Jimmy Kimmel Live! will also start late. (CBS’ Late show will be dark for the rest of the week while host Stephen Colbert recovers from Covid.)
In the Mountain and Pacific time zones, the primetime and late night schedules will remain.
The fact that all networks are choosing to simply move their primetime schedules is indicative of how unimportant start times are in the age of delayed/on-demand broadcasts. In the past, schedules were so rigid that networks had to pick up programs to carry the president’s speech or join the originally scheduled program that ended after the speech, frustrating fans.
Here are Thursday’s primetime lineups for each of the four major broadcast networks, with the modified start times in the Eastern/Central time zones.
ABC
8:22 PM ET/CT The golden bachelor
9:24 p.m Bachelor in paradise
23:22 Local News
11:57 p.m Jimmy Kimmel Live!
12:59 p.m Night line
CBS
8:15 p.m Friends games
9:15 p.m big brother
10:15 p.m The challenge: the USA
NBC
8:20 p.m Law and Order SVU (encore)
9:20 p.m graft
10:20 p.m Dateline NBC
23:20 Local News
11:50 p.m Today’s show
12:50 p.m Late at night
fox
8:15 p.m Hell’s Kitchen
9:15 p.m LEGO masters
Source: Deadline
Joseph Fearn is an entertainment and television aficionado who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a keen eye for what’s hot in the world of TV, Joseph keeps his readers informed about the latest trends and must-see shows.
