A spokesperson for the third major U.S. network, CBS, did not respond to Reuters questions about whether it planned to carry the address live. CNN and Fox News also did not respond to a request for comment.
At CBS, the takeover of Paramount by David Ellison, whose billionaire father Larry is a Trump ally, has roiled the newsroom and prompted the departure of senior staff from the news magazine “60 Minutes.” Some employees have alleged political interference in editorial decisions, which the network has denied.
Ellison is now awaiting FCC approval for Paramount's acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, which could give him control of CNN, a network Trump has long criticized for what he says is unfair coverage. The U.S. Justice Department's Antitrust Division gave its blessing to the deal last month.
The speech comes at a sensitive moment for U.S. media.
Walt Disney-owned ABC is facing two pending inquiries from the Federal Communications Commission, including one examining whether its daytime talk show “The View” violated equal-time rules by interviewing a Democratic Senate candidate in Texas.
The FCC could move as early as next month to begin the process of withdrawing the licenses for Disney's eight company-owned ABC stations.
Trump has repeatedly attacked NBC and its parent company, Comcast, which he has dubbed “Concast.” Last month he stormed out of an interview with NBC political reporter Kristen Welker after calling the network “a one-sided crooked network.”
Comcast last month announced plans to split into two publicly traded companies through a spinoff of NBCUniversal and Sky. Analysts have said the move could make NBCUniversal an attractive takeover target.
FCC Chair Brendan Carr is also investigating Comcast and its NBC unit over its diversity practices, which Carr said was the basis for the decision to speed up the reviews of Disney's ABC stations.
The conservative-leaning cable news network Fox News, owned by Rupert Murdoch, generally carries all of Trump's speeches but may also be wary of this one.
In 2023, the network had to pay out $787 million to settle a defamation suit over its airing of false claims about the 2020 election.
On Wednesday, Carr said in an interview with NewsNation that he thought the broadcast networks should air Trump's remarks.
“This is something that the American people have every right to be able to get over the airwaves,” Carr said.
Carr did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
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