On Wednesday, CNN C.E.O. Mark Thompson was backstage at Warner Bros. Discovery’s annual upfront presentation, at the Theater at Madison Square Garden, when his political team called to inform him that both president Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump had agreed to the network’s offer to host the first presidential debate. Recognizing the serendipity of the moment, Thompson quickly worked some remarks onto a small note card, took the stage for his portion of the event, and closed by announcing to the room full of advertisers that the historic debate would indeed air on his owned and operated platforms on June 27. “When people have something important to say, they do it on CNN,” Thompson said, adding in one final pitch to the buyers: “I hope you’ll do the same.” ABC News later announced that it will host a second presidential debate, on September 10.