Several broadcast, cable and streaming-only channels will offer simulcasts of the ABC News Presidential Debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump on Tuesday.
As with the CNN Presidential Debate two months ago, ABC News is allowing its peer broadcasters and other news organizations to simulcast a direct feed of the debate, as long as certain conditions are met.
Those conditions include promoting the debate by utilizing the ABC News brand, not obscuring the ABC logo during the debate and taking the event in full, with no additional commentary or interruptions while the candidates are on stage.
The following broadcast and cable channels will offer the ABC News debate on Tuesday, starting around 9 p.m. Eastern Time (6 p.m. Pacific Time)…:
- ABC
- BET
- CBS
- CNN
- Fox (most stations and affiliates)
- Fox Business Network
- Fox News Channel
- MSNBC
- NBC
- Newsmax
- NewsNation
- Telemundo
- Univision
And, as of Monday evening, the following streaming channels have affirmed plans to simulcast the ABC News debate, with many of them offering free feeds of the event:
- ABC News Live [via Xumo Play, Tubi]
- BBC News [via Xumo Play]
- Bloomberg News [via Tubi]
- CBS News 24/7 [via Xumo Play, Pluto TV]
- The Grio [via Local Now]
- LiveNow from Fox [via Tubi]
- NBC News Now [via Xumo Play]
- Newsmax 2 [via Xumo Play, Pluto TV]
- Scripps News [via YouTube]
- Sky News [via YouTube]
The debate will last for approximately 90 minutes, and will include two commercial breaks. Last week, ABC News released the rules of the debate, which will see the candidates introduced by moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis and will feature no opening statements.
Additionally, candidates Harris and Trump will be given a pad of paper, a pen and a bottle of water. They will not be allowed to use notes provided before the debate, and ABC News is not allowing the candidates to screen questions in advance.
Related: Fox News, ABC grab highest ratings for CNN Presidential Debate
Crucially, the candidates have also agreed to a rule that will prevent one from interrupting the other after a question is asked. To this end, only the candidate who is asked a question will be heard on the TV feed, with the microphone of their opponent muted while they are answering.
Candidates will have two minutes to answer questions, two minutes to rebut and one extra minute for follow-ups, clarifications and other responses, the network said. They will not be allowed to ask their opponent any question, and campaign staff are not allowed to interact with candidates during commercial breaks. No audience will be present in the room, either.
The sheer number of broadcast, cable and streaming-only channels offering the debate means it will be available through free and pay television platforms around the world — including DirecTV, which is currently feuding with ABC’s parent company, Disney, to the point where the broadcast network is unavailable to its subscribers. The situation is unlikely to be resolved in time for the debate on Tuesday, meaning DirecTV and U-Verse customers will have to watch the event on another channel.
The debate is expected to be similar in design to one between Trump and then-incumbent President Joe Biden that was produced by CNN in June. Fox News Media had the highest cumulative ratings for the CNN debate, according to Nielsen, with more than 13.4 million people tuning in to watch the CNN simulcast on Fox News, Fox Business Network and streaming platform Fox Nation. ABC had the biggest debate audience across all four major broadcast outlets, with around 8.7 million people watching on the network, Nielsen data revealed.
