* ABC and NBC will not run Trump election security speech on

their primary broadcast channels

* Trump may also talk about Iran, White House says

* Some Democrats urge networks not to broadcast address

By Helen Coster

NEW YORK, July 16 (Reuters) - Two of the three major U.S.

television networks have decided not to broadcast a planned

prime-time address on Thursday by President Donald Trump on

their primary platforms, risking the ire of an administration

that has placed unprecedented pressure on American media.

The speech is expected to focus on election security, four

months before the critical midterm elections.

Networks have broad First Amendment rights to decide what they

choose to broadcast, experts noted. But historically,

broadcasters have carried most such speeches on the grounds that

they provide information of public importance.

Late Thursday afternoon, a spokesperson for ABC News said the

network will run Trump's speech on its ABC News Live streaming

platform and ABC News Radio - not its broadcast channel.

NBC News plans to carry the president's remarks on its free

streaming service, NBC News NOW, but will not air the speech on

its main broadcast channel, according to a person familiar with

the matter. The company declined to comment.

The ABC and NBC streaming channels generally draw a fraction of

the viewers that their traditional broadcast signals reach.

The White House is considering using the speech to disclose

sensitive intelligence related to whether China had the

intention or ability to interfere in the 2020 U.S. election

which Trump claims was stolen from him, Reuters reported on

Wednesday. Some Trump officials worry that intelligence, which

was collected and analyzed during his first term, could be

misleading.

During a Thursday press briefing, White House Press

Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that "it is also very possible"

Trump will mention the current situation with Iran and the

economy at the top of the speech, and could possibly address a

range of topics.

She said that is "all the more reason" for the networks to

carry the speech live, and for Americans to tune in.

Trump has spent years sowing doubts about electoral

outcomes, falsely claiming his 2020 loss to Democrat Joe Biden

was rigged. He has also claimed without evidence that mail-in

voting is rife with fraud, voting machines are vulnerable to

manipulation and non-citizen voting is widespread.

Some Democrats, including U.S. Representative Alexandria

Ocasio-Cortez, have urged networks not to air the speech,

arguing Trump is likely to repeat debunked claims.

A spokesperson for the third major U.S. networks, CBS, did not

respond to Reuters questions about whether it planned to carry

the address live. CNN and Fox News also did not respond

to a request for comment.

At CBS, the takeover of Paramount by David Ellison,

whose billionaire father Larry is a Trump ally, has roiled the

newsroom and prompted the departure of senior staff from the

news magazine "60 Minutes". Some employees have alleged

political interference in editorial decisions, which the network

has denied.

Ellison is now awaiting FCC approval for Paramount's acquisition

of Warner Bros. Discovery ( WBD ), which could give him control of CNN,

a network Trump has long criticized for what he says is unfair

coverage. The U.S. Justice Department's Antitrust Division gave

its blessing to the deal last month.

The speech comes at a sensitive moment for U.S. media.

Walt Disney ( DIS )-owned ABC is facing two pending inquiries

from the Federal Communications Commission, including one

examining whether its daytime talk show "The View" violated

equal-time rules by interviewing a Democratic Senate candidate

in Texas.

The FCC could move as early as next month to begin the process

of withdrawing the licenses for Disney's ( DIS ) eight company-owned ABC

stations.

Trump has repeatedly attacked NBC and its parent company,

Comcast ( CMCSA ), which he has dubbed "Concast." Last month he

stormed out of an interview with NBC political reporter Kristen

Welker after calling the network "a one-sided crooked network."

Comcast ( CMCSA ) last month announced plans to split into two publicly

traded companies through a spinoff of NBCUniversal and Sky.

Analysts have said the move could make NBCUniversal an

attractive takeover target.

FCC Chair Brendan Carr is also investigating Comcast ( CMCSA ) and its NBC

unit over its diversity practices, which Carr said was the basis

for the decision to speed up the reviews of Disney's ( DIS ) ABC

stations.

The conservative-leaning cable news network Fox News, owned

by Rupert Murdoch, generally carries all of Trump's speeches but

may also be wary of this one.

In 2023, the network had to pay out $787 million to settle a

defamation suit over its airing of false claims about the 2020

election.

On Wednesday, Carr said in an interview with NewsNation that he

thought the broadcast networks should air Trump's remarks.

"This is something that the American people have every right to

be able to get over the airwaves," Carr said.

Carr did not immediately respond to a request for comment

Thursday.