ABC News Unveils Plans For Convention Coverage: Broadcast Network Will Air Hour Per Night, Streaming Channel Will Go Live Throughout Evenings
ABC News announced plans for its coverage of the Democratic and Republican conventions, including one hour of primetime coverage on the broadcast network, and more extensive coverage on its streaming site ABC News Live.
The broadcast coverage from 10 PM to 11 PM ET each night, led by chief anchor George Stephanopoulos, is in line with recent cycles even though the conventions themselves will be almost all virtual, after Democrats scrapped nearly all events in Milwaukee and Republicans scaled back plans for Charlotte. The Democratic National Convention will start on Aug. 17; the Republican convention begins a week later, on Aug. 24.
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Stephanopoulos, who will be in New York, will be joined by World News Tonight anchor David Muir and ABC News Live Prime anchor Linsey Davis.
ABC News coverage will begin at 7 PM each night and run until 11 PM ET. Davis will start it at 7 PM ET on ABC News Live, and Stephanopoulos and the team will lead starting at 9 PM ET.
Those who will contribute include Byron Pitts, Martha Raddatz, Jonathan Karl, Pierre Thomas, Tom Llamas, Cecilia Vega, Terry Moran, Nate Silver and Matthew Dowd, along with contributors Chris Christie, Yvette Simpson, Rahm Emanuel, Heidi Heitkamp, Sara Fagen, and analyst Leah Wright Rigueur.
In the field will be Mary Bruce, Rachel Scott and Alex Perez.
On ABC News Live, Davis will be joined by Llamas, Rick Klein and MaryAlice Parks, and ABC News Live Update anchor Diane Macedo will feature previews and recaps of the conventions throughout the day starting each morning at 9 AM ET.
Other coverage is planned across ABC News’ digital and social media platforms and ABC News Radio. Marc Burstein is the senior executive producer of ABC News Special Events.
Democrats are planning to program two hours of coverage each night, with the theme of “uniting America.” USA Today reported on Friday that the party plans to feature stories of everyday Americans along with a line up of speakers. Biden will deliver his speech from Wilmington, DE, his hometown, but an exact location has not been set. Organizers said that each night will feature different hosts as a way to bridge between videos and guests.
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