The Big Three Networks Weren’t Asked to Air Obama’s Immigration Speech

Despite the Obama administration promoting tomorrow’s presidential primetime speech as a gamechanging event in the debate surrounding undocumented immigrants, they are curiously not trying to publicize it too hard.

CNN’s Brian Stelter reported Wednesday that the White House did not request primetime space from the major networks — CBS, NBC, and ABC — but that Univision, of all places, will do so. CNN and the other cable networks will air the speech, which will take place in Nevada at 8 p.m. ET.

While President Barack Obama has requested primetime blocks to address the American people before, Stelter noted that those speeches mostly addressed foreign policy initiatives. For Obama not to request network time –especially for something as big as immigration reform — suggested that “he’s not going all the way,” Stelter noted.

“Maybe he’s trying to speak to a more niche audience,” he added.

In this speech, Obama is expected to announce a plan to protect undocumented immigrants from deportation, with some speculating that he will grant blanket amnesty.

Watch below via CNN:

[Image via screenshot]

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Important context here: sometimes the White House explicitly requests time from the broadcast networks — this time it did not.

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) November 19, 2014

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