Medicated, of course, but that goes without saying.
Based on ratings for the three cage-match presidential debates in this 2016 death march election cycle, analysts expect tonight’s Election Night coverage to be most-watched ever. To do so it has to eclipse the 71.5 million TV viewers who tuned in, back in 2008, to see if Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and Delaware Sen. Joe Biden would beat Arizona Sen. John McCain and his headline-generating running-mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
This year offers more TV viewing options than ever before. Here are the basics, in alphabetical order:
George Stephanopoulos heads ABC’s election coverage at ABC News Election digs in Times Square, starting at 7 PM ET, through 2 AM ET. His wife is on the record saying that, if Trump wins, they’re going to look at real estate in Sydney, Australia because “no crime, no guns.”
David Muir, Martha Raddatz, Diane Sawyer, Charles Gibson, Jonathan Karl, Terry Moran, Byron Pitts, Cecilia Vega, Tom Llamas, Matthew Dowd and Cokie Roberts are back.
Pierre Thomas and Dan Abrams will cover any voting rannygazoo, and state-by-state election results. Robin Roberts, and Amy Robach are assigned to Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump digs; Michael Strahan will buttonhole people on the street in Times Square.
Scott Pelley, Norah O’Donnell, John Dickerson, Gayle King, Charlie Rose, Elaine Quijano, and the fabulous Bob Schieffer are leading CBS’ coverage. Josh Elliott, Vladimir Duthiers and Reena Ninan lead CBSN coverage, and both kick off at 7 PM ET through 2 AM ET.
Wolf Blitzer, Jake Tapper, Anderson Cooper and Dana Bash lead CNN coverage from the cable news net’s Washington bureau. Chief national correspondent John King mans the CNN Magic Wall, political director David Chalian covers exit polls, and CNN Politics executive editor Mark Preston will be at the decision desk. Analysts-in-chief include Gloria Borger, David Axelrod, Nia-Malika Henderson, Michael Smerconish, and Jeffrey Toobin.
Fox
Fox Television has the option to carry carry live election coverage from 7 PM to 1 AM ET. That includes You Decide 2016: Election Special, hosted by Fox News chief news anchor Shepard Smith, from 8-10 PM ET. Joining Smith will be Chris Wallace, Bill Hemmer, Martha MacCallum, Shannon Bream, and Trace Gallagher.
Bret Baier and Megyn Kelly lead coverage from FNC’s new New York studio, starting at 6 PM ET. Joining are Brit Hume, Chris Wallace, Dana Perino, Juan Williams, and Tucker Carlson, as well as contributors Karl Rove and Charles Krauthammer. Election coverage officially starts at 6 PM ET and the team calls it a day at 1 AM ET. That team includes Martha MacCallum tackling exit polls and Bill Hemmer manning FNC’s Bill-board. Carl Cameron and John Roberts are embedded at Trump HQ, while Jennifer Griffin and Mike Emanuel are assigned to Hillary Clinton’s HQ – both digs in New York City.
Lester Holt, Chuck Todd, and Savannah Guthrie headline NBC broadcast network’s coverage, starting at 7 PM ET. If you can’t wait that long, MSNBC’s coverage, lead by Rachel Maddow, Brian Williams and Chris Matthews, kicks off at 6 PM ET.
Andrea Mitchell is holed up at Clinton campaign headquarters, while Donald Trump’s favorite female journalist taunt recipient these days Katy Tur will be at his HQ. Steve Kornacki is manning the NBC’s Big Board. Tom Brokaw, who, like Bob Schieffer, has covered every presidential election since 1968, will join NBC coverage from New York. And, under Bells and Whistles: NBC News again has temporarily renamed Rockefeller Center as “Democracy Plaza,” and enlisted its iconic ice skating rink as an electoral college map.
PBS
PBS NewsHour anchors Judy Woodruff and Gwen Ifill lead the coverage. Jeffrey Brown is assigned to Trump’s HQ and John Yang to Clinton’s HQ, while NewsHour weekend anchor Hari Sreenivasan reports from Washington.
José Díaz-Balart and María Celeste Arrarás anchors Telemundo’s coverage starting at 7 PM ET. Being an NBC operation, they and Luis Carlos Vélez and Felicidad Aveleyra get to report from NBC’s Democracy Plaza. Ana Navarro, who has emerged as one of the stars of this election-cycle coverage, is joining Telemundo’s coverage tonight as one of its analysts.
Trump non-fan Jorge Ramos, and María Elena Salinas anchor Univision’s coverage tonight, joined by Enrique Acevedo, Félix de Bedout, and Ilia Calderón. Among those participating: Dems Fernand Amandi and Fabián Núñez, as well as Republicans Adolfo Franco and former U.S. Treasury Secretary Rosario Marín.
Meanwhile, if you want election results but don’t do “news”:
— The View Live Election Special will feature the Ladies of The View, airing on Lifetime, at 9 PM ET.
— The Late Show With Stephen Colbert is pre-empted on CBS, but will air as a live election special on Showtime tonight at 11 PM ET.
— Viceland is also offering a live election-themed edition of its comedy show Desus & Mero.
— The Daily Show With Trevor Noah is live tonight at 11 PM ET and will be simulcast on Comedy Central, MTV, Spike and VH1.
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