President Donald Trump's upcoming birthday bash comes with tanks, troops--and no primetime.
What Happened: A $45-million military parade in Washington D.C. to celebrate the Army's 250th anniversary--and Trump's 79th birthday on June 14--won't air on any major broadcast networks, as top media outlets prioritize sports and streaming.
Unlike events like Trump’s inauguration in January, the president's military parade will be relegated to streaming platforms and off-broadcast television for major media networks.
ABC News, which is a unit of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), will cover the parade on its ABC News Live streaming platform Saturday, Variety reported.
Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) will utilize its NBC News Now streaming outlet to cover the event instead of its NBC broadcast channel.
Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA)(NASDAQ:PARAA) will cover the event on its CBS News 24/7 streaming network.
Fox Corporation (NASDAQ:FOX)(NASDAQ:FOXA) will also keep coverage off its FOX channel. Instead, it will utilize the right-leaning Fox News Channel, which will have four hours of special coverage from 6 p.m. ET to 10 p.m. ET.
Many media companies are choosing to air regularly scheduled programming over the parade.
Disney's ABC broadcast channel has the UFL Championship game Saturday night during the parade window. Comcast's NBC has US Open Golf coverage. CBS plans to air local programming, evening news and regularly scheduled programming. FOX has Major League Baseball coverage.
Along with the broadcast television sports coverage, there will also be Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals taking place 8 p.m. ET during the parade time window. The NHL game will air on TNT and truTV and stream on MAX, which are all owned by Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD).
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Why It's Important: Whether viewers tune into streaming coverage of the parade remains to be seen. The Army expects up to 200,000 people to attend and estimates it’ll cost taxpayers up to $45 million -- a price Trump called “peanuts.”
Portions of Washington, D.C., will be closed for the event, which will feature heavy-duty army vehicles, aircraft, military members and a fireworks show at 9:45 p.m. ET.
Given the lack of coverage by broadcast television and the parade’s competition with several sporting events, viewership for the parade will likely be low. It will likely become a political talking point for those not supporting the current administration.
Viewership for Trump's inauguration was 24.5 million, less than the 33.8 million who tuned in for President Joe Biden's inauguration in 2021. It’s also down from the 30.6 million that watched Trump's first-term inauguration in 2017. Viewers watching on streaming platforms like Rumble Inc (NASDAQ:RUM) weren't included in the final tally.
The parade on Saturday comes as protestors in California and other regions of the country bring attention to Trump’s immigration crackdown and use of the National Guard. Trump warned protestors who want to come out to Washington, D.C., that "they will be met with very heavy force.”
The U.S. Constitution protects the right to peacefully protest.
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