CBS has been under attack from conservative groups and from the former US President's family over 'The Reagans', in which Ronald Reagan is portrayed as showing the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease in the final days of his presidency.
However, the network denied that it was this criticism that had swayed them. In a statement, CBS said: "This decision is based solely on our reaction to seeing the final film, not the controversy that erupted around a draft of the script."
In the four-hour mini-series, Reagan is played by James Brolin and the First Lady, Nancy, is portrayed by Judy Davis. In one publication, Republican party member and right-wing champion Pat Buchanan described the portrayal as "brutal hatchet work, a smear of a good man by haters who fabricate and lie to paint Reagan as a religious bigot who thinks those dying of Aids are getting what God intends for them".
One scene that particularly enraged Reagan's supporters showed him saying "I am the Anti-Christ" after an attack on American Marines in Beirut.
CBS said that it had agreed to show the film on Showtime, a subscription-based pay-TV network that does not carry advertising.
The station said: "This was not an easy decision to make. CBS does tackle controversial subjects and provide tough assessments of prominent historical figures and events, as we did with films such as 'Jesus', '9-11' and 'Hitler'. We will continue to do so in the future."
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