President Donald Trump will deliver his 2026 State of the Union address tonight, and viewers may be wondering what time it starts or what channel to watch it on. In addition, some of your favorite Tuesday night shows are being pushed aside, while others will air as scheduled. Here’s everything you need to know to watch the speech and plan your TV lineup.
How to Watch 2026 State of the Union Address
Donald Trump will deliver the State of the Union address on Tuesday, February 24. The speech will be live, starting at 9/8c.
To watch the speech, all of the major broadcast television and cable news networks will be carrying the speech as it airs live. CBS will also be broadcasting a live stream on its YouTube page, as will PBS, The Guardian reported.
ABC Schedule
For tonight’s ABC schedule, the night will start with a new episode of “Will Trent” in the 8/7c hour. At 9/8c, they will air the SOTU address.
That means there will be no new episode of “High Potential.” This is the third week in a row that “High Potential” has been off air, thanks to a two-week hiatus that took place during the Winter Olympics. It’s set to return with a new episode on Tuesday, March 3.
CBS Schedule
CBS was ready to air the midseason premieres of “NCIS,” “NCIS: Origins,” and “NCIS: Sydney” tonight. However, CBS has decided to delay all of their midseason premieres until next week, Tuesday, March 3.
Instead, CBS will air a repeat episode of “NCIS” during the 8/7c hour. Then they will be airing the SOTU address beginning at 9/8c.
FOX Schedule
For FOX’s lineup tonight, they will begin with a new episode of “Best Medicine” at 8/7c. Then, they will also air the State of the Union 2026 address beginning at 9/8c.
That means the medical drama “Doc” will not air at 9/8c per usual. This is the second week in a row that there will be no new episode of “Doc.”
FOX chose to preempt the show last week, also due to the Winter Olympics on NBC. The last new episode of “Doc” aired on February 10. The show will return to its regular programming on Tuesday, March 3.
NBC Schedule
For NBC, they typically have the NBA on NBC game airing on Tuesday nights. However, they were off for the past two weeks for the Winter Olympics.
The preemption will continue tonight for the 2026 State of the Union Address. Instead of a new NBA airing on NBC, the network will air two repeat episodes of “St. Denis Medical” in the 8/7c hour. Then they will air the SOTU address live at 9/8c.
