ESPN To Flip Coin To Decide Order Of Obama, McCain "MNF" Chats
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ESPN To Flip Coin To Determine Order
Of Obama, McCain Interviews On "MNF" |
ESPN during halftime of tonight's Steelers-Redskins "MNF" game will air taped individual interviews with Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain, and ESPN Exec VP/Production Norby Williamson said ESPN will "flip a coin" to decide which candidate's interview will air first, according to Richard Sandomir of the N.Y. TIMES. Williamson said that he will "not ask campaign officials to call heads or tails." Williamson: "We'll do it amongst ourselves." The interviews, which will be conducted earlier in the day via satellite by ESPN's Chris Berman, will be shown around 10:15pm ET, and Obama and McCain "will split about six and one-half minutes" of air time. Williamson: "We don't want to get into ... public policy discussions. We'll keep it light, have some fun." He said that the net "started planning months ago for the half-time interviews, whoever the candidates turned out to be." Williamson added of potential viewership, "I'd think given our promotion of this, we'd get a spike at halftime" (N.Y. TIMES, 11/1). In Chicago, Phil Rosenthal noted Berman "isn't likely to ask about subsidies for stadiums and antitrust exemptions or how the candidates feel about regulation of cable and broadcast TV." Rosenthal: "It's a fitting end to a campaign trail that has passed through 'American Idol,' 'Last Comic Standing' and 'WWE Raw' pro wrestling" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 10/31).
GETTING POLITICAL: In DC, Tim Lemke reports ESPN also "will air short features about former NFL players who entered politics and another about the 2004 Illinois Senate race, which nearly pitted Obama against ESPN analyst" Mike Ditka (WASHINGTON TIMES, 11/3). Meanwhile, SI.com's Don Banks notes ESPN yesterday on "NFL Countdown" went "well past a tad overboard on their show's presidential election theme." Banks: "Nobody does overkill like the Worldwide Sports Leader, where the rule Sunday seemed to be why use one political cliche when 12 will do?" (SI.com, 11/3).
RADIO GETS IN ON THE ACTION: Westwood One during the pregame and halftime shows for tonight's "MNF" will also air interviews with Obama and McCain conducted by ESPN's Jim Gray (Westwood One).
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