But the answer, ultimately, was found by television — or, more to the point, not found there at all. In August, CBS and ESPN decided they would no longer broadcast the anthem — a “tradition” that only required the players to be on the field for the song beginning in 2009, and even then it wasn’t often televised. Even Fox, the sporting wing of the news network that helped push president’s views, quit showing the anthem other than games scheduled on Veterans Day and Thanksgiving.
Source: latimes.com – Los Angeles Times