NBC’s Republican Debate scheduled for February ‘canceled,’ at least for now

It is not often that we write about a political story in the same way we would a television show, but this is the case for this article for one bizarre reason or another.

Today, it was announced by the Republican National Committee that after receiving what they thought was a disrespectful treatment by CNBC during the debate that aired on the network earlier this week, they are canceling a planned debate set to air on NBC this February. This is what Reince Priebus, head of the RNC, wrote to NBC News’ Andrew Lack:

“While debates are meant to include tough questions and contrast candidates’ visions and policies for the future of America, CNBC’s moderators engaged in a series of ‘gotcha’ questions, petty and mean-spirited in tone, and designed to embarrass our candidates.”

We’re not going to get into the politics of anything (not our place), but this is a commercial nightmare for NBC News. These debates have been ratings juggernauts on every network that has hosted them so far, and that is significant since this is the first election cycle we can remember where candidates are openly leveraging the media to work for them in ways that they have not before. The RNC knows that they have an attractive property that will draw millions in ad revenue, so they can pitch themselves to a variety of suitors. Ultimately, they do not need NBC.

Of course, the real losers here are viewers and voters if candidates feel like moderators are working too hard to get headline-grabbing soundbytes than asking serious questions. The less you see of candidates on television, the more uninformed the voting public may be.

It’s possible that this will change long before February rolls around, so we’ll have some other news soon. Stay tuned.

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