Watch: Networks ditch Trump to cover Clinton

Trump is campaigning in Georgia today, and he delivered a freewheeling address that touched on a variety of topics, including immigration reform, national security, Islamic terrorism and his former GOP primary rivals.

CNN, MSNBC and Fox News all carried the start of his rally.

At around 30 minutes into Trump’s address, however, Clinton began her remarks in Virginia on national security.

CNN, MSNBC and Fox cut away from Trump, and turned their attention to the Democratic front-runner.

The move is somewhat unprecedented, considering all three cable news networks have so far dedicated the bulk of their 2016 election coverage to the billionaire businessman, including the time they each gave 30 minutes of airtime to an empty Trump podium. Trump’s rallies have been covered live by the cable networks, with many of them refusing to break even for commercials, and the 2016 GOP front-runner has been hosted for multiple lengthy exclusives on Fox News, MSNBC and CNN.

By March of 2016, nine months after launching his campaign in June, Trump had earned nearly $2 billion worth of free press, easily outpacing presidential candidates on both sides of the aisle, according to data compiled by mediaQuant.

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Trump’s earned media — that is, news mentions in print, on television and online — is “about twice the all-in price of the most expensive presidential campaigns in history,” the New York Times’ Nick Confessore and Karen Yourish reported at the time.

To put Trump’s free media numbers in perspective, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., had about $400 million in earned media for the whole of his 2008 presidential campaign.

To date, Trump has enjoyed more coverage from CNN, MSNBC and Fox than any other presidential candidate in the current election cycle, including Clinton.

And though much of the coverage has been negative, this likely matters very little to the candidate who once wrote, “even a critical story, which may be hurtful personally, can be very valuable to your business.”

“One thing I’ve learned about the press is that they’re always hungry for a good story, and the more sensational the better. It’s in the nature of the job, and I understand that,” Trump wrote in 1987.

“The point is that if you are a little different, or a little outrageous, or if you do things that are bold or controversial, the press is going to write about you. I’ve always done things a little differently, I don’t mind controversy, and my deals tend to be somewhat ambitious,” he added. “The result is that the press has always wanted to write about me.”

On Wednesday, however, the three cable networks may have signaled a shift in how they plan to cover the remainder of the 2016 race for the White House.