Culture

Susan Boyle Bumps Obama on Primetime Television

by alia_d | July 22, 2009 at 09:08 am

1057 views | 11 Recommendations | 3 comments

Six months into his presidency Obama's star power has dimmed and been trumped by the hype surrounding reality TV star Susan Boyle. An episode of America's Got Talent featuring an interview with Susan Boyle bumped Obama's press conference about healthcare from its 9pm primetime slot to 8pm on July 22, 2009.

The White House initially announced that President Obama's press conference on healthcare would take place at 9 p.m. tonight. However, NBC and other TV networks objected to the time because they wanted to show a special episode of America's Got Talent featuring Susan Boyle instead.

Susan Boyle, a 48-year-old Scottish woman who became an overnight singing success thanks to the TV show Britain's Got Talent, has a large fan base in the US. 95% of Susan Boyle's fan mail comes from the United States and 275 million Americans have sought out clips of her on youtube.

A US television insider told the Daily Express: "The television networks normally comply even if it is in prime viewing time.

"It can lose them ratings and millions of dollars in advertising revenue. But NBC dug its heels in and refused to push Susan out of the prime time slot, so the White House just had to blink."

0 See all footage | View Slideshow

Share: email story | add to any | | facebook | stumbleupon

recommend This comment thread is now closed

Jarrett Martineau

at 09:39 on July 22nd, 2009

Not even the President can stop the power of the Boyle!

Lois Zurita

at 13:55 on July 22nd, 2009

I'm a fan of Susan Boyles, but when the President can be bumped for a ratings hike, that illustrates where America's priorities are. We can't complain when other countries mock at our behavior, look how we are treating our own President. Why couldn't her special be aired later on? After Pres. Obamas Press Conference? They'd already have an audience infront of the tv!