ABC and NBC each cut away live coverage of sporting events on Saturday with special news reports to announce that President Donald Trump has confirmed that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in the massive attack launched by the United States and Israel.
The news reports each occurred in the neighborhood at around 4:40 p.m. ET on Saturday.
With under eight minutes to go in the second period of the NHL game between the Boston Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers, in the middle of live play, ESPN on ABC play-by-play announcer Bob Wischusen said, “We have to go now to an ABC News special report.”
The broadcast then went to the ABC News desk, with anchor David Muir delivering the news.
“We are interrupting the game for just a moment here because there is major breaking news at this hour,” Muir said. “ABC News has just learned that Iran supreme leader, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is believed to have been killed in the attack in Iran. President Trump, just moments ago, confirming the news in a social media post.”
The report lasted for roughly eight minutes.
ESPN announced on social media that the Bruins-Flyers broadcast was available to watch on ESPNews and the ESPN app during the news report.
NBC moved away from third-round coverage of the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches for the special news report.
NBC also had a special news report for nearly 10 minutes during the Cognizant Classic PGA Tour event. pic.twitter.com/C7ThyqxTSK
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 28, 2026
“We are coming on the air with major breaking news out of the Middle East,” NBC News anchor Tom Llamas said. “President Trump just posted on Truth Social that Iran supreme leader, the Ayatollah Khamenei, has been killed during the joint U.S.-Israel attack on Iran. Khamenei was the most powerful figure in Iran, both a political and religious leader. He’s been a lifelong adversary of both the U.S. and Israel, and the news of his death could have massive implications, not only for Iran, but for the entire Middle East.”
The NBC News special report was for roughly four minutes, with commercials on each side of the report leading to a break of nearly 10 minutes overall.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.