American Tv sets up and hypes interviews long before they air on the morning programs ( e.g. join reporter xzy in the 7 o'clock hour when she'll be at old country fair to discuss....). Also as a reporter, he, himself, would have a better idea than the average person on the types of time frames these stations use in getting stories on the air ( e.g. they hyped it at 6:15, so usually that means they'll be live in 30 - 45 min or so....).
It would be interesting to see if he had any friends at the station or if there is some bit of station protocol that might of tipped him off too by accident.