3 ways to continue getting booked on TV

Recently, I’ve seen numerous reports about the aggressive booking practices employed by the major television news networks. The biggest complaints? That the networks were canceling guests at the last minute and banning them from appearing on competing networks.

As an example, one formerly regular guest on CNBC complained to Politico:

Frankly, I wasn’t surprised. You shouldn’t be either.

CNBC is not the only network with competitive booking practices. The network morning shows are especially notorious for their competitive nature, with bookers going to great lengths to get exclusive interviews with top guests. Cable shows aren’t much different. When I worked in cable, it was standard practice to ask a guest not to appear on a competing network before coming on a show. News is a cutthroat business and no network, cable or otherwise, wants to be seen as recycling guests.