NBC and Fox-TV said over the weekend that they will not carry the first presidential debate between George W. Bush and Al Gore on Oct. 3.

NBC indicated that it is obligated to carrying a baseball playoff game on that day. Fox said it has decided to show entertainment programming and leave the debate in the hands of its News Corp sibling, Fox News Channel. (The presidential debates have generally coincided with baseball's post season.

Indeed, both Richard Nixon and John Kennedy were sharply criticized by commentators after the first presidential debate on Sept. 26, 1960 for not mentioning Pittsburgh slugger Bill Mazeroski's World Series-winning home run against the New York Yankees, which occurred earlier that day.)

Source: Studio Briefing