In a rare collaboration, rival broadcast and cable networks including Fox News and ABC are teaming up to simulcast the presidential debate next Thursday, to be hosted by CNN.
The first debate of the 2024 presidential election will break with tradition: Instead of being hosted by the Commission on Presidential Debates and broadcast by various networks, the candidates decided to bypass the commission and take part in two network-produced debates.
The first show will air on CNN on June 27. The second will be hosted by ABC and will air on September 10.
The debate will air live on CNN, CNN International, CNN en Español and CNN Max, stream live on CNN.com and will also be available on other broadcast and cable news networks.
According to the Los Angeles Times, CNN demanded that its logo be displayed on screen and that all press releases and promotional spots refer to the event as the “CNN Presidential Debate,” a condition to which the rival network appears to have agreed.
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On Thursday, Fox News announced it would have “extensive live coverage” of the CNN presidential debate across all platforms, including “FOX News Democracy 2024: The CNN Presidential Debate” from 9:00 pm-11:00 pm EDT. ABC News announced it would broadcast “The Battle for the White House, an ABC News presentation of the CNN Presidential Debate” on ABC New Live, streaming on Hulu from 7:00 pm-12:00 pm Thursday. Other networks, such as NewsNation, will also broadcast the debate along with pre- and post-debate analysis.
While networks are not allowed to make commentary during the debate, many are planning their own commentary before and after the debate. Fox News, for example, has already criticized the debate, with host Sean Hannity telling the debate moderators and CNN hosts Jake Tapper and Dana Bash to “control the network” and calling the debate “Fake CNN.”
