Time's Adam Sorensen thinks it would make sense for the RNC to sell TV rights to GOP presidential primary debates:

CNN is reporting that RNC officials have informally kicked around the idea of sanctioning all Republican presidential primary debates in 2011/2012 and selling off the TV rights. Though it would be largely unprecedented -- the DNC sanctioned, but did not sell, debates in 2007 -- in many ways, the idea makes sense. It would be an added revenue stream for an organization with well-known money woes coming out of the last election cycle. It would reestablish the committee as a central player in the process as groups like American Crossroads/Crossroads GPS take on ever-larger roles. It might give the party more control over who gets to ask the questions, or at least where the answers are aired -- a number of conservatives were very displeased when they learned the first debate scheduled at the Reagan Library was to be co-hosted by NBC News, which employs liberal pundits like Rachel Maddow and Ed Shultz at MSNBC.

Those are reasons why such a move might make sense for the RNC. Unfortunately, neither Sorensen nor the CNN report to which he referred spent much time on whether it would make sense for television networks. By paying for the broadcast rights, they would essentially be paying for interviews, which most major news organizations tend to frown upon. And while it may be good for the GOP if “the party” has “more control over who gets to ask the questions,” it isn't clear that that is good for the television networks that would be broadcasting the debates. If the RNC is hand-picking questions, there is the potential for the debates to be little more than infomercials -- with the unusual twist that the broadcaster, not the advertiser, is footing the bill.

Finally, as I've explained, conservative whining about NBC hosting a Republican debate is completely without merit. Rather than simply parroting those complaints, reporters should look back at how MS/NBC employees handled GOP debates in 2007/2008 and assess whether the complaints hold water.