In the wake of stories about how much spots were going for in the Sept. 16 Republican debate (a 4,000% increase), leading candidate Donald Trump has written CNN president Jeff Zucker suggesting the network donate profits from those ads to veterans groups.
Fox drew debate-record ratings for its Aug. 6 airing of the first Trump vs. the rest of the field debate.
In a letter to Zucker dated Sept. 8, a copy of which Trump tweeted to his followers, he said that since he was sure it was his appearance that would be driving viewership—"this tremendous increase in viewer interest and advertising is due 100% to Donald J. Trump," he bragged—he said the network should air the debate as a public service and donate the ad dollars.
Trump said he would soon be supplying Zucker a list of the organizations he was suggesting get the money. "This large contribution of many millions of dollars would be a truly wonderful thing for CNN to do," he added.
No word on whether CNN would take that unusual step—a spokesperson had not returned a request for comment at press time—but the likelihood was low, particularly after CNN announced Wednesday it was providing free online and mobile viewing of the TV debate to boost the eyeballs for advertisers seeking more bang for their bucks.
