Where to Watch Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump’s First Presidential Debate

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The first presidential debate between Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will take place on Monday, Sept. 26, beginning at 9pm ET. The debate will be held at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, and is slated to be 90 minutes long.

NBC News anchor Lester Holt will moderate this long-awaited first presidential debate, which will be divided into six time segments of approximately 15 minutes each on major topics to be selected by the moderator. The topics for the first debate were announced this week and sound fairly vague: “America’s Direction,” “Achieve Prosperity” and “Securing America.” (These topics could change due to news developments, of course). Holt will open each segment with a question, after which each candidate will have two minutes to respond. Candidates will then have an opportunity to respond to each other.

There will be several places where you can watch this first presidential debate, both on linear television and online. Here are some key places to tune in.

Coverage of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump’s First Presidential Debate (All Times ET)

ABC — Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos will lead special ABC News coverage of the first presidential debate from New York Sept. 26 from 9pm-11pm. He’ll be joined by a team from New York, Washington, D.C. and at Hofstra University, including David Muir, Martha Raddatz, Jonathan Karl, Cecilia Vega, Tom Llamas, Byron Pitts, Cokie Roberts and Matthew Dowd. On Nightline at 12:35am following the debate, Dan Harris will recap the pivotal moments from the evening, as well as the reaction fromt he spin room.

ABC News Digital will have live coverage throughout the day from anchors and correspondents at Hofstra, inside the spin room, and at watch parties across the country. ABC News’ digital coverage of the debates will be streamed live on Facebook, as well as on ABCNews.com and on its apps for mobile and OTT.

Bloomberg TV — Bloomberg TV will feature live coverage of the election Sept. 26 at 9pm. The network says it will offer on-screen fact-checks of statements made by both candidates during the debates, and is the only network so far that has committed to offering such live fact-checks.

C-SPAN & C-SPAN2 — Beginning at 7:30pm, C-SPAN will air a preview that explains the debate format, rules and questions. Then, at 8:30pm, the network goes inside the debate hall to hear remarks from the Commission on Presidential Debate, University President and the debate moderator. At 9pm, C-SPAN and C-SPAN2 will air the debate live (C-SPAN’s coverage will feature a split-screen showing both candidates throughout the debate). At 10:30pm, C-SPAN will feature live post-debate reaction, where the always-interesting C-SPAN callers and social media commenters have the platform. C-SPAN2 will feature live coverage from the spin room at 10:30pm. The debate will re-air on C-SPAN at 11:30pm, with the reaction re-airing at 1am. C-SPAN will also be live-streaming the debate at c-span.org.

CBS — Scott Pelley and John Dickerson will lead CBS News’ primetime coverage of the debate Sept. 26 from 9pm-11pm. They’ll be joined by Nancy Cordes and Major Garrett, while Bob Schieffer will provide commentary after the debates. Pelley will also anchor the CBS Evening News at 6:30pm on Sept. 26 from Hofstra University.

CBSN will offer complete coverage before, during and after each debate, with primetime coverage beginning at 7pm.

CNBC — CNBC’s John Harwood and Michelle Caruso-Cabrera will be on the ground in Hempstead, NY reporting for CNBC’s Business Day programming ahead of Monday night’s debate. CNBC’s “Your Money, Your Vote: Presidential Debate” will air live Sept. 26 at 9pm. The broadcast will be anchored by Carl Quintanilla and Kelly Evans from the NASDAQ in New York with additional reporting and analysis from Chief Washington Correspondent John Harwood and Chief International Correspondent Michelle Caruso-Cabrera live from Hofstra University in Hempstead. The debate will also be livestreamed on CNBC.com.

CNN — CNN will air the event in its entirety on its networks as well as online through CNNGo. CNN Politics will host a live blog offering instant analysis and reaction as the debate unfolds at the top of the screen.

Facebook Live — As they did with the political conventions, ABC News and Facebook Live will again be teaming to feature live video of the debate on the social network.

FOX (broadcast) — FOX News Channel’s Shepard Smith anchors live coverage Sept. 26 at 9pm. (Note that local FOX programming on the West Coast will air 9pm-10pm PT, and that Lucifer will be pre-empted tonight.)

FOX Business Network — FBN will present live coverage of the debate Sept. 26 from 8pm-1am. Neil Cavuto will anchor the primetime debate coverage live from the debate hall. He will also anchor his daytime FBN program, CAVUTO Coast to Coast, on location earlier in the day, from 12pm-2pm. Additionally, Lou Dobbs will host Lou Dobbs Tonight live from the debate hall at 7pm, and he will also join Cavuto throughout the evening’s coverage along with Charlie Gasparino, Trish Regan and Kennedy. FBN’s Connell McShane, Blake Burman and Peter Barnes will provide live reports from the debate hall.

FOX News Channel — FNC will present extensive live programming of the first presidential debate between nominees Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump Sept. 26 at 9pm. Along with FNC, coverage will also be available on additional platforms including FOX News Radio, FOX News Mobile and FOXNews.com, where the debate will livestream for free without authentication. 

Special Report’s Bret Baier and The Kelly File’s Megyn Kelly will co-anchor special primetime debate coverage live from the debate hall beginning at 9pm, through 11pm. Baier and Kelly will be joined by a team of commentators for post-debate analysis, including current On the Record host Brit Hume, The Five’s Dana Perino and political contributors Juan Williams and Tucker Carlson. Additionally, FNC’s signature programs and primetime line-up will telecast from Hofstra University beginning with Special Report with Bret Baier (6pm), On the Record with Brit Hume (7pm), The O’Reilly Factor (8pm), The Kelly File (11pm) and a two-hour Hannity (12-2am). FNC’s daytime lineup will also feature special live programming about the debate, leading into the primetime coverage.

Free Speech TV — Free Speech TV will offer live coverage of the debate Sept. 26 at 9pm.

MSNBC — MSNBC’s all-day coverage live from Hofstra University begins at 9am on Monday. Chuck Todd anchors a special edition of “MTP Daily” at 5pm live from Hofstra, followed by Chris Hayes at 6pm also at the debate site.

MSNBC primetime coverage kicks off at 7pm anchored by Rachel Maddow and Brian Williams live from Election Headquarters in New York, with Chris Matthews live from Hofstra. Post-debate discussion and analysis continues until 2am.

NBC News and MSNBC anchors and correspondents at Hofstra include Peter Alexander, Kasie Hunt, Hallie Jackson, Chris Jansing, Steve Kornacki, Craig Melvin, Andrea Mitchell, Kelly O’Donnell, Thomas Roberts, Stephanie Ruhle, Kate Snow, Katy Tur, and Kristen Welker.

The debate will stream live on both NBCNews.com and MSNBC.com, and on NBC News’ YouTube channel.

NBC — Special primetime coverage on the NBC broadcast network airs from 9-11pm, anchored by “TODAY” co-host Savannah Guthrie and “Meet the Press” moderator and NBC News political director Chuck Todd. Guthrie and Todd will be joined for post-debate analysis by NBC News special correspondent Tom Brokaw, who has covered every presidential election since 1968, and a team of NBC News correspondents and contributors.

Guthrie also anchors “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt” live from Hofstra at 6:30pm.

One America News — OAN will offer live coverage of the debate Sept. 26 at 9pm.

PBS — PBS NewsHour presents live coverage of the debate beginning at 9pm, followed by 30 minutes of analysis co-anchored by Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff, with David Brooks, Mark Shields and Amy Walter in studio, and correspondent John Yang on location.

Telemundo  This election clearly has large stakes for Hispanics, who could also play a major role through their voting bloc, so NBC’s sister network Telemundo will simulcast the first presidential debate, called “La Gran Batalla,” with coverage beginning Sept. 26 at 8pm. With more than 15 correspondents and analysts around the country, led by Noticias Telemundo anchors José Díaz-Balart and María Celeste Arrarás, the Hispanic network will offer complete debate coverage, including pre-debate analysis, a breakdown of public expectations and special reports, followed by simultaneous Spanish translation of the debate live. Telemundo’s coverage will conclude with a special program featuring post-debate analysis and potential repercussions for the candidates’ respective campaigns and the Latino vote.

Twitter — Twitter will feature live streams of the debate courtesy of Bloomberg TV’s live coverage. The streams will be available at Twitter.com and at the @bpolitics Twitter account.

Univision — Clinton vs. Trump — El Debate will air live Sept. 26 from 9pm-11pm on Univision. Coverage will feature simultaneous Spanish translation on the Univision Network, Univision.com, the Univision and Univision Noticias apps, Facebook.com/UnivisionPolitica, UnivisionNow, Univision Noticias’ YouTube channel, Periscope and Snapchat Live. It will also stream in English on Univision.com.

The special broadcast is hosted by Univision anchors Jorge Ramos and María Elena Salinas. Ramos and Salinas, along with a team of journalists, political analysts and high-profile guests, will be stationed at Univision News’ election center in Miami. In a special half-hour show immediately following the debate, they will analyze the candidates’ replies, and their possible repercussions on the presidential race. During the course of the debate, Univision will feature fact-checking, and the audience will also be able to engage with the broadcast via a second-screen experience that will show their opinions in real-time. The pulse of voters in the crucial swing state of Florida will be gauged through a representative sample of Florida voters who will watch the debate live at the Univision News Election Center and register their reactions via a poll conducted on their mobile devices in real time.

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