Shark Tank fans hoping to take a break from election coverage and see small businesses pitch for investment money will have to wait a bit longer on Friday, November 6.
ABC announced that the reality television competition would be pushed back as the network devotes the 8 p.m. hour to ongoing coverage of the 2020 presidential election. Democratic candidate Joe Biden had announced that he would be delivering remarks on Friday evening, though had not given a specific time.
As the New York Post noted, the former vice president’s campaign said that he would be speaking during the primetime hours, meaning his speech could take place at any point before 11 p.m.
ABC noted the change in a press release, and some of the Shark Tank personalities shared the news on Twitter as well. Investor Daymond John announced that the program would be seen at 10 p.m. instead of the normal start time, though the uncertainty of Biden’s announcement could potentially put that in doubt as well.
As the New York Post noted, all major networks are expected to preempt normal programming when his remarks begin, so if it does not begin until Shark Tank’s later start time, then the show could be pushed back even further.
Heads up #SharkTank fans: tonight’s episode will be airing at 10PM instead of 8PM!
— Daymond John (@TheSharkDaymond) November 6, 2020
The timing could have do to with the uncertainty of the presidential race itself. While the Democratic candidate had pulled ahead in a series of key swing states and appeared to be on pace to cross the 270 electoral vote threshold, networks held off on calling the election in favor of the former vice president. It was not clear if the remarks would amount to a victory speech, as Biden had been careful in previous public statements not to declare victory.
In the event that the race would be called prior to the airing of Shark Tank , it would be possible that the programming would not go forward on Friday at all. With the final vote count stretching for several days after Americans took to the polls, many networks have devoted long stretches of primetime blocks to covering the unfolding vote counts.
As The Inquisitr reported, there could soon be new ties between the presidential race and the pitch-style programming popularized by Shark Tank . There are reports that Ivanka Trump is fielding offers to return to television if she leaves the White House, and could be featured on a show similar to Shark Tank.
A source said that while she could likely receive offers for shows like Dancing With The Stars , Trump may be holding out for a stronger offer and a project where she would be the lead.