Last year, Trump passed on a chance to appear on NBC's pre-game programmingGETTY IMAGES
President Trump has "agreed to sit down with CBS for a Super Bowl Sunday interview" set to air ahead of the net's broadcast of the game, according to Brian Stelter of CNN.com. "Face the Nation" moderator Margaret Brennan "will speak" with Trump on Friday, and "portions of the interview will air Sunday both on her program and on the Super Bowl pre-game telecast." Trump will "likely use the CBS interview to continue advancing his pro-wall arguments." Trump "continued the tradition" of U.S. presidents being interviewed before Super Bowls "shortly after being inaugurated" in '17. Fox aired that year's game, so Trump "sat down with his longtime friend Bill O'Reilly." Last year, however, Trump "passed on a chance to appear on NBC's pre-game hours" (CNN.com, 1/28). VARIETY's Brian Steinberg noted a portion of the interview will air at 3:30pm ET, and there will be "no shortage of topics to discuss." One issue may be Trump's "take on the state of NFL football, something he went out of his way to criticize last year as various players protested racial injustice" during the national anthem. Still, the pregame presidential interview segment "poses a challenge to even the most seasoned TV-news team" (VARIETY.com, 1/28). "Face The Nation" broadcasts Sunday from Atlanta, and there will be "football-themed programming this week on other CBS News programs" such as "CBS This Morning" and "CBS Evening News" ("Morning Media," Politico, 1/29).
SUPER-SIZED PREGAME: THE ATHLETIC's Richard Deitsch noted CBS' Super Bowl pregame coverage "will begin" at 11:30am with a live broadcast of "That Other Pregame Show." The official pregame show -- "The Super Bowl Today" -- begins at 2:00pm featuring the usual cast of "The NFL Today" as well as Ian Eagle "hosting on a second set." The show will have "three sets total (two in the stadium and one outside in the Gameday Plaza)." CBS producer Drew Kaliski, who is producing the Super Bowl pregame show, said he wants it to be a "celebration of football on this unofficial national holiday." Kaliski: "We have to keep reminding ourselves that we have a wide range of viewers tuning in Super Bowl Sunday. Some people who watch our show every Sunday during the regular season and some viewers who are tuning us in for the first time this season." One of the features "already completed is a piece on the 50th Anniversary of the Jets’ Super Bowl III win over the Colts." Kaliski said that CBS "will bring in some current NFL players to be part of the pregame" (THEATHLETIC.com, 1/28).
