The President's Aug. 28 March on Washington commemoration speech live to its affiliates from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, combining both broadcast and online platforms.
ABC is still firming up coverage plans for the speech, but an ABC News spokesman tells B&C the network is planning to air it.
Fox said it will also cover the speech, which a spokesman said is expected to start around 2:20 in the afternoon and last about 10 minutes. Since the speech is not during regular network programming, Fox will be offering it to affiliates who wish to air it.
If the speech does air between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., the coverage would take a bite out of ABC's General Hospital. Soap fans are famously finicky about interruptions to their shows.
The President will make his remarks at the "Let Freedom Ring" ceremony to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington in 1963 and Dr. Martin Luther King's iconic "I Have a Dream" speech.
CBS News and NBC News had not responded to requests for comment at press time about whether they were covering the speech live, but NBC parent Comcast launched a site Thursday with videos commemorating the March.
