ABC and NBC are poised to rake in big bucks from their dueling Biden-Trump town halls

Variety

"The networks broadcasting their events may be looking less at headlines the two politicians will generate and more at the money they will draw," says Variety's Brian Steinberg. "NBC and ABC hope to take in hundreds of thousands of dollars in advertising revenue from their 8 p.m. town-hall broadcasts, pressing for an average cost of $198,000 for 30-second commercials adjacent to the events, according to two people with knowledge of negotiations between the networks and advertisers. ABC and NBC declined to make executives available for comment, and it was not immediately clear if NBC was seeking additional money for simulcasts of its event on MSNBC and CNBC, or offering a package of inventory across all three networks."