CNN will introduce commercial breaks to the presidential debate between Biden and Trump

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will likely interrupt each other during CNN’s broadcast of the first presidential debate ahead of the 2024 election. But they will also be cut off by something else.

CNN plans to run commercials during the event, according to two people familiar with the matter, which has been free of ads for years under the direction of the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates. The candidates have chosen in this cycle to abandon the traditional structure of the CPD, which calls for a series of debates closer to the November elections. Instead, they have reached an agreement with CNN for a debate on June 27 and with ABC News for a debate on September 10.

CNN’s plan to include commercials was mentioned in the access rules recently issued to members of the DC Television News Pool and subscribers to its feed, as well as CNN affiliates. Additionally, networks will have the option to sell their own commercials instead of the commercials that air on CNN. According to one of these people, CNN has not yet provided information about how many commercial breaks the debate will contain and how long they will last.

CNN declined to make executives available for comment.

The unique plan could allow TV networks that don’t control the debate to make more money than CNN. It was produced by Warner Bros. Discovery-backed cable news channel has been plagued in recent months by a lackluster programming schedule that has crimped ratings in key time slots, including weekday prime. If Fox News Channel or MSNBC aired the CNN broadcast and sold their own commercials, they might be able to command better prices than CNN. Both networks typically attract more viewers in primetime than their competitors.

Perhaps better the commercials than rival news staff. CNN’s access rules prohibit other news organizations from filling commercial breaks with commentary segments from their own analysts, correspondents or personalities. That rule would, for example, prevent MSNBC from surrounding its CNN feed with comments from Rachel Maddow, and Fox News from sending Sean Hannity to offer his opinions during breaks in the CNN action.

CNN has assigned Dana Bash and Jake Tapper to moderate the exchanges between Biden and Trump.

Advertisers have been interested in the presidential debates for some time, even though they cannot place advertisements next to them after the event has started. Anheuser-Busch InBev, for example, has long served beer and food in a pop-up beer garden located in the auditoriums or theaters where debates have taken place.

In some years, advertisers have run commercials with messages that play on the fact that a presidential debate is taking place, and have tried to air them before or after the policy statements and strong words. Audi ran an ad in 2016 on the night of the first CPD debate between Trump and Hillary Clinton, showing two clerks fighting to take command of an Audi RS 7. “Beautiful things are worth fighting for,” the ad said. “Choose the next driver wisely.” Web services company GoDaddy ran a TV commercial suggesting that the “GoDaddy Guy” was on the campaign trail. “There is no other candidate who is cheaper,” the character said on the spot.

The presidential debates are typically lucrative for TV networks – and so are the primary debates. CBS in 2016 charged between $200,000 and $225,000 for a 30-second ad during coverage after a Trump-Clinton debate. CNN in 2019 required a commitment of about $300,000 in advertising on the network before it would give a potential sponsor the chance to buy commercials within two debates between Democratic presidential hopefuls.