Never in its 49-season run has the finale of the Reality TV Show Survivor had a scheduled interruption.
But this time, fans will have to wait a while to find out who wins Season 49.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced he plans to deliver an Oval Office address on Wednesday, December 17, when the season finale is set to air.
Highlights
- For the first time in 49 seasons, Survivor's finale will be interrupted by President Trump's Oval Office address on Dec. 17 at 9 p.m. ET.
- CBS will delay the Survivor finale and resume the episode immediately after Trump’s speech for Eastern and Central Time Zones.
- Trump’s address will focus on his accomplishments, plans for the next three years, and possibly new policy teasers for the coming year.
The ‘Survivor’ season finale will have a scheduled interruption due to a televised address by Donald Trump
Image credits: The White House/Flickr
CBS announced that the episode will be delayed so it can broadcast Trump’s address scheduled for 9 p.m. ET. The last-minute announcement made by Trump had four major networks scrambling to alter their prime-time schedules, including Fox News, which postponed the season finale of The Floor.
CBS News said the finale, which starts at 8 p.m. ET, will “resume where it left off immediately following the president’s address for Eastern and Central Time Zone viewers.”
Chief White House correspondent Nancy Cordes will join CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell to anchor the coverage.
Many viewers are worried the speech will last longer than the allocated 30 minutes.
“It’s going to be a really good speech. I was just in the Oval Office with the President discussing it,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday.
Image credits: Gage Skidmore/Flickr
“He’s going to talk a lot about the accomplishments over the past 11 months, all that he’s done to bring our country back to greatness, and all he continues to plan to do to continue delivering for the American people over the next three years.”
Separately, she told Fox News that Trump would be “maybe teasing some policy that will be coming in the New Year as well.”
Trump, who has a history of long speeches, wrote on Truth Social, “My Fellow Americans: I will be giving an ADDRESS TO THE NATION tomorrow night, LIVE FROM THE WHITE HOUSE, at 9 P.M. EST. I look forward to ‘seeing’ you then. It has been a great year for our Country, and THE BEST IS YET TO COME!”
Other shows whose schedules will be affected are ABC's iHeartRadio Jingle Ball 2025, a holiday musical event set to run from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. EST, and NBC's Christmas in Nashville. Neither of the networks has offered an alternative at the time of writing this article.
Image credits: CBS
Trump announced the news of the speech as the administration faces angry Americans, including long-time supporters of the president, who are frustrated with the high prices of gas, groceries, and the overall state of the economy.
The sentiments could be seen in mayoral and local elections across the country in November, where Democrats won many seats over Republicans.
A University of Chicago/The Associated Press poll published last week revealed that only 33% of Americans are satisfied with Trump’s economic policy.
Trump also faces scrutiny from within his MAGA movement for what supporters feel is a shift in focus from “America First” to focusing on Ukraine, Gaza, and Venezuela.
The upcoming speech seems to be another attempt by Trump to remake his image. Last week in Pennsylvania, Trump promised to “make America affordable again,” and he is due to give another campaign-style rally in North Carolina on Friday.
While Trump battles to stay on top of the political ladder, Sage Ahrens-Nichols, Sophi Balerdi, Savannah Louie, Kristina Mills, and Rizo Velovic will be competing for a $1 million prize on Survivor, and 16 players will fight to win $250,000 on The Floor.