ABC News and Facebook will partner up once again during this election cycle, this time for live coverage of the 2016 presidential debates between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
Their previous partnership during the Democratic and Republican conventions resulted in more than 28 million video views across ABC News’ Facebook pages.
“Given the tremendous viewership we saw across the ABC News Facebook pages throughout the conventions, we’re thrilled to continue the partnership and bring ABC News’ wide-ranging live coverage direct to users’ News Feeds for the debates,” ABC News digital vice president Colby Smith said. “As we move further into the election cycle, there continues to be a voracious appetite for live content and we know many users turn to Facebook to engage and participate in the conversation.”
ABC News’ curated Facebook feed will provide live streams from around the debate host cities, starting with the first event on Monday in Long Island when NBC’s Lester Holt moderates the first debate from Hofstra University.
The streams will include coverage from inside the spin room and watch parties across the country. It will also feature commentary from anchors and correspondents at ABC News headquarters in New York.
“We’re excited that ABC News will continue to bring people on Facebook the full breadth of what is happening, in real-time on the ground during these important moments in the election cycle,” Facebook director of News and Global Media Partnerships Andy Mitchell said.
ABC News will incorporate viewers’ comments, questions and conversations in the Facebook Live coverage. Matthew Dowd and LZ Granderson will kick off the evening coverage of each debate on Facebook Live with original series “Strait Talk” at 7:00 p.m. ET followed by anchored coverage from “Nightline” co-anchor Dan Harris, Digital Host Amna Nawaz and Granderson through the completion of the debate.