Election Day 2012 TV coverage

Updated Nov. 6, 2012, 1:04pm CT

It all comes down to this. After over a year of campaigning, Nov. 6 is Election Day in America, when citizens will finally (hopefully) know who will be the President of the United States for the next four years, as well as the results of various other Senate, House and local races and ballot initiatives. While other third-party presidential candidates are on some ballots, the result in the presidential race will either be the re-election of incumbent Democrat Barack Obama, or the election of his Republican challenger, Gov. Mitt Romney.

Naturally, with a huge election such as this, there will be plenty of television coverage, and all kinds of new little toys, studios and digitally created electoral maps for news anchors to play with. Here are some of the networks where you can tune in to watch results, analysis and other coverage of Election Day on Nov. 6. Obviously, end times and coverage can change depending upon election results, delays, etc. Check back for updates and additions (and don’t forget to vote if you’re able!).

ABC
Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos lead ABC News coverage beginning with a special edition of World News With Diane Sawyer at 6:30pm ET, and continuing with full election coverage from 7pm ET until at least 2am ET. A special edition of Nightline will air at 2:35am ET.

ABC will report state-by-state results of the presidential election, as well as key House, Senate and gubernatorial races. Other anchors, correspondents and analysts joining the coverage include Jake Tapper at Obama election headquarters in Chicago; David Muir at Romney election headquarters in Boston; Katie Couric monitoring social media reaction; Barbara Walters — who has interviewed every president since Richard Nixon — providing historical context; Josh Elliott in Times Square getting real-time crowd reactions; Univision anchors Jorge Ramos and Maria Elena Salinas contributing a Latino perspective from Univision headquarters in Miami; Deborah Roberts and David Kerley with Obama and Romney supporters watching results; a panel of political analyst including George Will, Matthew Dowd, Donna Brazile and Nicolle Wallace; Gary Langer and team breaking down exit polls; and more. For the special edition of Nightline, Cynthia McFadden will anchor in New York, with Terry Moran anchoring from Obama headquarters in Chicago and Bill Weir at Romney headquarters in Boston.

ABC News Digital platforms will also provide live, anchored coverage of Election Night 2012 across ABC News digital and social platforms including ABCNews.com, Yahoo!, Yahoo! News, GoodMorningAmerica.com, ABC News’ iPad and iPhone apps, ABC News affiliate websites, and the YouTube Elections Hub. The live-streamed coverage kicks off with a noon ET pre-show, followed by continuous coverage from 7pm-2am ET, anchored by Dan Harris, with Amy Walter and Olivier Knox.

AXS TV
6pm ET: Dan Rather Reports — Election Night — Live With Dan Rather. Dan Rather hosts live from Washington, D.C., with guests Mike Murphy, a Republican strategist; Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed; Democratic strategist Kiki McLean; Republican strategist Todd Harris; Slate editor Dahlia Lithwick; National Journal Daily Editor Matt Cooper; pollster Dr. David Hill; and policy expert Alan Philip. Joining live from Los Angeles will be Bill Maher.

BET
10:30pm ET: BET News: Battleground 2012: Vote Night. Live coverage of Election Day 2012, with reports, analysis and updates from an African-American perspective.

Bloomberg Television
Beginning at 7pm ET, Bloomberg Television presents Economy Election 2012 — live prime time election coverage focused on the economic impact of an Obama or Romney presidency and the financial obstacles stifling the nation’s path to recovery.

At 7pm ET, Bloomberg Television airs a special edition of Bloomberg Surveillance with host Tom Keene, who will be joined by Sara Eisen and Scarlet Fu in New York. At 8pm ET, Trish Regan hosts Economy Election 2012, which will feature a team of reporters, analysts and contributors who will examine the key economic issues at play in the race for the White House. Regan will be joined by Washington editor Al Hunt; Bloomberg Television political analyst Matthew Dowd; former Senator John Sununu (R-NH); Neil Barofsky, former Inspector General of TARP; and Richard Falkenrath, former Deputy Commissioner of Counter-Terrorism of the NYPD. White House correspondent Julianna Goldman will report live from Obama campaign headquarters in Chicago, and chief Washington correspondent Peter Cook will be stationed at Romney campaign headquarters in Boston. Washington correspondent Megan Hughes will report from New York with real-time results, and chief national correspondent Carol Massar will report from Hamilton County, Ohio, in a state that could determine the final election outcome.

The Bloomberg Television coverage will include a multi-platform presence, with programming also available via live-stream on Bloomberg.com and on mobile via the Bloomberg TV+ iPad app.

CBS
CBS Evening News anchor and managing editor Scott Pelley will lead CBS News’ seven hours of division-wide, multi-platform reporting on Election Night starting at 7pm ET. Pelley will be joined by Bob Schieffer, Norah O’Donnell and John Dickerson. Additionally, correspondents will report live from around the country, including key battleground states. Byron Pitts will use virtual reality models of the House and Senate to explain the impact on key races; Anthony Mason will deliver exit polling data; Jan Crawford will report from Romney headquarters in Boston; Nancy Cordes will be at Obama headquarters in Chicago. CBSNews.com will live-stream the network’s coverage and feature election results and original reporting on national and statewide races.

CNBC
5pm ET: Your Money, Your Vote: Squawk Box Edition. Special edition of Squawk Box anchored by Joe Kernen, Becky Quick and Andrew Ross Sorkin.

7pm ET: Your Money, Your Vote: Election 2012. Airs live, anchored by Carl Quintanilla and Maria Bartiromo, with John Harwood. The special provides coverage of the latest news and analysis from the race, as well as live polling results.

CNN
Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper from Washington, Candy Crowley from Boston and Erin Burnett from Ohio lead CNN‘s Election Night in America coverage beginning at 6pm ET. The coverage will be the network’s first-ever anchored from Washington. National political reporter Jim Acosta joins Crowley in Boston at Romney campaign headquarters, while White House correspondents Jessica Yellin, Dan Lothian and Brianna Keilar will be live from Obama campaign headquarters in Chicago. Chief national correspondent John King will provide analysis of CNN’s projections and explain closely contested races in county-by-county detail. Dana Bash will join anchors in the studio to provide context on House and Senate races as projected. Joining coverage on Election Day and through the early morning hours will be analysis from Paul Begala, James Carville, Alex Castellanos, Ari Fleisher, Margaret Hoover, Van Jones, Roland Martin and Ana Navarro.

Leading up to the evening coverage is other earlier Election Day coverage:

5am ET: Early Start With John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin (Election Day edition)

7am ET: Starting Point With Soledad O’Brien (Election Day edition)

9am ET: Election Day in America editions of CNN Newsroom will provide live coverage until 2pm with updates from CNN’s correspondents in the final battleground states.

2pm ET: Special one-hour Election Day in America edition of Erin Burnett OutFront airs live from Columbus, Ohio.

3pm ET: Special one-hour Election Day in America edition of Anderson Cooper 360° airs live from Washington.

4pm ET: Special Election Day in America edition of The Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer airs live.

6pm ET: Election Night in America coverage airs live until 3am.

3am ET (Nov. 7): America’s Choice 2012 coverage begins with Early Start anchors John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin, and Starting Point anchor Soledad O’Brien. Sambolin will be live from Chicago; Berman and O’Brien live from Washington.

9am ET (Nov. 7): America’s Choice 2012 continues with Kate Bolduan and Joe Johns from Washington.

12pm ET (Nov. 7) Post-Election Day editions of CNN Newsroom continue with Wolf Blitzer, Suzanne Malveaux, John King and Brooke Baldwin from Washington and Atlanta.

Post-Election Day editions of The Situation Room, OutFront, Anderson Cooper and Piers Morgan Tonight will air at their regularly scheduled times on Nov. 7.

 

CNN en Español
CNN en Español’s coverage begins at 7pm ET and will be moderated by senior political anchor Juan Carlos López along with anchors Patricia Janiot, Fernando del Rincón, Carmen Aristegui, Xavier Serbiá, Guillermo Arduino and Alejandra Oraa. The network will have correspondents reporting from all over the world talking with people about how the U.S. election and their candidates are viewed abroad, including Mexico, Cuba, Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Spain and Israel.

The coverage will also include reporters throughout the U.S., including Ione Molinares reporting from the Obama campaign headquarters in Chicago, Adriana Hauser reporting from the Romney campaign headquarters in Boston, Maria Santana in New York, Karina Dalmas in Los Angeles, Rafael Fuenmayor in Miami and Gustavo Valdes, who is traveling with the CNN Election Express through Florida, North Carolina, Virginia and Ohio.

CNN International
CNN International begins its election coverage at 6am ET, lead by CNN’s Richard Quest, Hala Gorani, Isha Sesay and Jonathan Mann. Coverage will feature correspondents across the U.S. and around the world. At 9am ET, CNN International will broadcast a special business-centered program featuring Quest and CNN’s chief business correspondent Ali Velshi, who will look at early reaction to the election from the world’s leading financial markets.

At 3pm ET, CNN’s chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour will anchor a live U.S. election-edition of Amanpour entitled, “America’s Next President — High Stakes For the World.” Joining Amanpour as guests will be CNN chief political correspondent Candy Crowley; author Robert Caro; historian Simon Schama; former Republican governor Christine Todd Whitman; and  journalist Maria Elena Salinas. Following this live, one-hour broadcast, CNN International will join CNN/U.S. and continue simulcasting until 6am ET Nov. 7.

Comedy Central
11pm ET: Election Night 2012: This Ends Now. A live, Election Night edition of The Daily Show With Jon Stewart.

11:30pm ET: Election 2012: A Nation Votes, Ohio Decides; The Re-Presidenting of America: Who Will Replace Obama? ‘012!. Live, Election Night edition of The Colbert Report.

Both shows will also stream live on comedycentral.com.

Current TV
6pm ET: Joy Behar: Say Anything! – Election Viewing Party. In this Election Day special, Joy Behar welcomes as guests comedians Paul Rodriguez, Judy Gold, Chuck Nice and Tommy Davidson.

7pm ET: Talking Liberally: The Stephanie Miller Show – Election Day Special. Live special Election Night coverage with the latest results and returns, featuring interviews, satire and political commentary with host Stephanie Miller.

8pm ET: Politically Direct: Presidential Election 2012. Live Election Day coverage featuring Al Gore, Jennifer Granholm, Eliot Spitzer, Cenk Ugyur and John Fugelsang.

Fox (Broadcast)
Shepard Smith of Fox News Channel will anchor Fox Broadcasting Company’s live election night coverage starting at 7pm ET. Commentary and analysis will be provided by Ed Rollins, Mary Anne Marsh and A.B. Stoddard. Also contributing will be Martha MacCallum, who will report on exit poll data, and Bill Hemmer, who will break down results. Additionally, chief political correspondent Carl Cameron will report live from Romney campaign headquarters in Boston, while chief White House correspondent Ed Henry will be live from Obama campaign headquarters in Chicago. Programming will include reports from correspondents in battleground states.

Fox Business Network
Fox Business Network (FBN) will provide live election night coverage starting at 5pm ET, hosted by Neil Cavuto, along with Stuart Varney and Lou Dobbs. Varney will start off the night with a post-market edition of Varney & Co. from 5-6pm ET, followed by Lou Dobbs Tonight at 6pm ET. As the first polls close on the East Coast, FBN’s Election 2012: Special Report begins with Cavuto taking over the anchor chair for the evening at 6:55pm ET. Liz Claman will report live from the NASDAQ MarketSite in Times Square, where she’ll interview industry leaders, as well as cover world market reaction. Gerri Willis will be live from Romney campaign headquarters in Boston, while Rich Edson will be at Obama campaign headquarters in Chicago.

Fox News Channel
Starting at 6pm ET, Bret Baier and Megyn Kelly will co-anchor live election night coverage, with analysis from Brit Hume and Chris Wallace, as well as contributors Joe Trippi, Juan Williams, Karl Rove, Kirsten Powers and Stephen Hayes. Also contributing will be Martha MacCallum with exit poll data, and Bill Hemmer breaking down the results. Additionally, chief political correspondent Carl Cameron and senior national correspondent John Roberts will report live from Romney campaign headquarters in Boston, while chief White House correspondent Ed Henry and senior White House correspondent Wendell Goler will be live from Obama campaign headquarters in Chicago. FNC’s coverage will also simulcast from a position in Times Square in New York City. FNC correspondents will also report from battleground states.

Bill O’Reilly and Greta Van Susteren will also be part of the special coverage, commenting on results as they unfold. Van Susteren will interview FNC contributor and former governor Sarah Palin during the course of the evening.

FNC’s coverage will also feature a live webcast on foxnews.com from its New York headquarters starting at 8pm ET, which will be co-anchored by Jonathan Hunt and Harris Faulkner, and will also include Jenna Lee, who will report on the social media response.

For the first time, Fox News Latino will stream live at 9pm ET. The coverage will be hosted by Rick Sanchez in Spanish, and feature analysis from leaders in the Hispanic community.

Free Speech TV
7pm ET: Democracy Now! 2012 Election Day Coverage. Amy Goodman and Juan González host the coverage, which includes live results as the polls close, reactions from across the globe, and in-depth analysis from a wide range of guests.

Link TV
7pm ET: Link TV is also airing Democracy Now! 2012 Election Day Coverage hosted by Amy Goodman and Juan González.

MSNBC
MSNBC‘s Decision 2012 programming begins at 5:30am ET with Way Too Early, followed by Morning Joe at 6am ET. The election preview continues from 9am-noon ET with Chuck Todd joining Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, Willie Geist and others for MSNBC Election Day coverage. Regular programming will continue throughout the day, including a special edition of Hardball With Chris Matthews live at 5pm ET.

The network’s live primetime election coverage and analysis begins at 6pm ET, and is hosted by Rachel Maddow, with Chris Matthews, Rev. Al Sharpton, Lawrence O’Donnell, Ed Schultz and Steve Schmidt from New York City. Chuck Todd will report on battleground states; Tamron Hall will provide “voice of the voter” and exit poll results; Melissa Harris-Perry will contribute from Obama campaign headquarters in Chicago, and Chris Jansing will report from Romney headquarters in Boston. Other election night contributors will include Alex Wagner, Chris Hayes, Ezra Klein, Michael Steele, Eugene Robinson, Victoria DeFrancesco Soto and Ed Rendell. Howard Fineman and John Harwood will provide reports from the campaigns and their reactions.

MSNBC Decision 2012 coverage continues the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 7, with Way Too Early at 5:30am ET and Morning Joe at 6am ET, with Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, Willie Geist and special guests offering an election recap and continuing analysis of the results. Morning Joe will broadcast in front of a studio audience. Information on tickets can be found at www.joe.msnbc.com.

MTV
MTV News and its Power of 12 election campaign will broadcast live political newsbreaks regularly throughout Election Night, beginning at 8:30pm ET on MTV and mtvU, in addition to ongoing news coverage throughout Election Day on MTV.com. Sway Calloway will report from MTV studios in New York, Andrew Jenks will cover the election from Chicago and James Montgomery will be on the ground in Boston, keeping young people updated on the latest Election Day news and results. MTV will also live-tweet during Election Day on its Twitter feed @MTV, the logo on all MTV channels in the U.S. will go red, white and blue, and the network will run an ongoing message on-air reminding young people to #GoVote.

NBC
NBC Nightly News and Rock Center anchor and managing editor Brian Williams will anchor NBC’s coverage, which airs from 7pm-3am ET. Meet the Press moderator David Gregory and Today co-host Savannah Guthrie will join him at the anchor desk. Special correspondent Tom Brokaw will look at trends, history and analysis; Andrea Mitchell will follow key House and Senate races, and the impact on non-elected officials; Lester Holt will look at gubernatorial, down-ballot and key local races, proposition measures and the after-effiects of Superstorm Sandy on voting; chief justice correspondent Pete Williams will contribute reporting on irregularities, technology and claims of voter suppression; Chuck Todd will track the candidates’ road to 270 electoral votes; Kristen Welker will report from Obama headquarters in Chicago; Peter Alexander will report from Romney headquarters in Boston.

NBCNews.com will provide coverage throughout the day, including multimedia updates, interactive maps and reporting from teams across the country. It will also stream the networks’ prime time coverage the night, and offer real-time results at the top of the home page. The site’s political destination, NBCPolitics.com, will live-stream the election and provide latest news and analysis.  NBCLatino.com will feature Decision 2012 coverage focused in the Latino voter with content also cross-posted with Spanish-language sister network Telemundo’s Election Day site.

PBS
8pm ET: PBS NewsHour Election Night 2012: A Special Report. Senior correspondents Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff co-anchor live coverage of election results. Joining them will be syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks. Jeffrey Brown will address down-ticket races and national trends, with Christina Bellantoni and Stuart Rothenberg. Hari Sreenivasan will showcase the multi-layered NewsHour Digital Map Center while examining battleground states. Online coverage begins at 8am ET.

Telemundo
Telemundo’s Election Day coverage (click the previous link for a Spanish-language release) begins on the network’s morning show, Un Nuevo Día, at 7am ET/PT. Noticias Telemundo will offer hourly news updates throughout the day, continuing through Al Rojo Vivo con Maria Celeste (5pm ET/PT). Noticiero Telemundo con José Díaz-Balart (6:30pm ET) will broadcast live from New York City’s Rockefeller Center, and starting at 7pm ET/4pm PT, Telemundo will turn over completely to Decision 2012, Election Night, its live special prime time coverage from NBC’s new Democracy Plaza.

Anchor José Díaz-Balart will lead the Noticias Telemundo team alongside political analysts Jorge Castañeda, Victoria DeFrancesco Soto, María Echaveste and Adolfo Franco, who will provide updates on voting trends and their consequences for the Hispanic community.

Anchor Vanessa Hauc will review the results of the only national exit polls on Spanish-language television, capturing trends and motivations among Hispanic voters. Reporter Rogelio Mora-Tagle and political analyst Carlos Rajo will follow developments across the nation’s most hotly contested states, the balance of power between the two parties, and the progress of Hispanic candidates in Congressional races around the country. Telemundo’s DC correspondent Lori Montenegro and reporter Angie Sandoval will be on site at President Obama’s and Gov. Romney’s campaign headquarters, respectively, covering the reactions from the candidates and their supporters. Cristina Londoño will report from Los Angeles and Francisco Cuevas will be in Houston, where he will report on the presidential race, as well as Hispanic candidates running for Congressional seats in the state of Texas. Sofía Lachapelle and Carlos Botifol will cover the voting in Florida and Nevada, both hotly contested states with large Hispanic populations, while Isolda Peguero will be on hand in Washington, D.C., to cover any potential irregularities in the voting process. Telemundo says it will work with its affiliate network of reporters to cover the whole country, especially states with significant Hispanic populations, such as Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico. At the international level, Raúl Torres will cover reactions abroad from Telemundo’s news bureau in Mexico City.

Univision
Univision (click previous link for a Spanish-language release) will kick off live Election Night coverage to Spanish speakers in the United States beginning at 7pm ET, continuing uninterruptedly until 3am ET, live from Miami. Noticiero Univision anchors Jorge Ramos and María Elena Salinas will lead a team of journalists and political analysts to offer Hispanic America detailed information on the presidential race, as well as other races taking place across the nation. The team will provide commentary and analysis of the voting process, state-by-state outcomes, key ballot issues and other topics of particular significance to Hispanic viewers.

Univision’s Washington correspondent Lourdes Meluzá will be stationed in the Romney campaign headquarters in Boston, while political reporter Luis Megid will be with the Obama camp in Chicago. Special correspondents will report live from swing states where the Hispanic vote will be decisive: Maria Antonieta Collins from Arizona, Jaime García from Nevada, and Lourdes Del Río from Florida. News teams in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and all stations in Texas will also be providing continual network commentary on voting progress. There will also be extensive coverage from other key voting areas including Colorado and Puerto Rico.

On Nov. 7, a special edition of Univision’s morning show Despierta América (Wake Up America) will offer post-election news and analysis at 7am ET.

Univision’s complete election coverage will be streamed live on UnivisionNoticias.com, and also at the YouTube Elections Hub.