As we approach the final weeks of the 2020 presidential campaign cycle, incumbent vice president Mike Pence and Senator Kamala Harris will take the stage this week for their first and only vice presidential debate before the election, which takes place on Tuesday, Nov. 3 with early voting already underway in some states. The debate, which is set for Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 9/8c, will take place at the University of Utah and will be moderated by USA Today‘s Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page. All of the major broadcast networks will air coverage of the event, including ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, and PBS.
The event comes on the heels of the first presidential debate between President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, and former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee. In light of Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis just days after his debate with Biden, and the subsequent diagnoses of several prominent Trump allies, the debate commission — the committee that oversees the debates — has announced that it would be making changes to the debate format in order to protect the health of the candidates. When Pence and Harris take the stage on Wednesday, they will keep a 12-foot distance between them (instead of the 7 feet Trump and Biden had between them) and remain seated throughout the evening. There will also be a newly-introduced plexiglass barrier between the two candidates, as well as one between the candidates and the moderator.
Trump vs. Biden Presidential Debates: Everything You Need to Know
Trump revealed early Friday morning that he and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19. His campaign team has not yet commented on how the diagnosis might affect the remaining two debates with Biden. As of now, both events are still scheduled for Oct. 15 and Oct. 22. Meanwhile, Pence, Biden, and Harris have all tested negative for COVID-19, meaning that the first vice presidential debate will proceed as planned barring any unforeseen circumstances.
So how can you tune in to the 2020 vice presidential debate between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris? Below you will find network-specific tune-in information for the debate, and we will continue to update this as more information is provided. In the meantime, don’t forget to head here for more details on all of the upcoming debates, including when they’ll take place and which topics will be discussed.
ABC News
ABC News Live will kick off three hours of primetime coverage of the debate at 7/6c with ABC News Live Prime anchored by Linsey Davis, who will take a deep dive into the key issues surrounding the upcoming national election on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Network coverage of the event begins at 8/7c with the hour-long special, Pence vs. Harris: The Vice Presidential Debate — A Special Edition of 20/20. George Stephanopoulos, who will be anchoring from New York City, will lead coverage of the event and will be joined by David Muir and Linsey Davis. ABC News’ coverage will include live updates, fact checks, key takeaways, breakout moments during the debate, and post-debate analysis available on ABCNews.com, the ABC News mobile app, and Apple News.
Meanwhile, FiveThirtyEight will publish a post-debate episode of the FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast along with a post-debate Ipsos poll that examines who voters think won the debate and how the debate has affected the presidential race. Plus, ABC News Radio will deliver three hours of live coverage on the night of the debate, including a one-hour pre-show followed by the debate and post-debate analysis. The event will be anchored Aaron Katersky and feature reporting and analysis from Karen Travers, Steve Roberts, Rick Klein, MaryAlice Parks, and more.
A livestream of the debate from ABC News’ YouTube channel is embedded above.
CBS News
CBS News’ debate coverage begins with a pre-show at 8:30 p.m. ET followed by post-debate coverage starting at 11/10c. Norah O’Donnell will lead CBS broadcast coverage, and she will be joined by Gayle King and John Dickerson. Former Obama senior adviser Valerie Jarrett and former Trump chief of staff Reince Priebus will appear to provide political analysis of the debate. Live on CBSN — in the player above and on your mobile phone, connected TV or gaming console. Download the free CBS News app for full CBSN coverage and live convention updates. CBSN streaming is available on all major platforms, including iOS, Android, Roku, Amazon, Apple, Samsung and Pluto.
CBS will broadcast the debate live, starting at 9/8c, and on its YouTube channel. BET will also broadcast CBS’s coverage at 9/8c. You can also stream the debate on CBSN‘s website, through the CBS News app, and on all major platforms including iOS, Android, Roku, Amazon, Apple, Samsung and Pluto.
C-SPAN
C-SPAN will also air the debate, with coverage beginning at 8/7c, with a livestream available on its YouTube channel.
CNN
CNN’s vice presidential debate coverage will begin at 7/6c with a Debate Night in America special.
Fox
Fox’s Democracy 2020: Vice Presidential Debate coverage begins at 9/8c.
Fox Business
FOX Business Network’s coverage will start at 8/7c with Neil Cavuto, who will anchor the primetime special “FOX Business Network Presents Democracy 2020: The Vice Presidential Debate.” The package will feature pre-debate and live coverage, as well as a post-debate analysis. Cavuto will be joined by a rotating panel of experts, including Lou Dobbs, Gerry Baker, Connell McShane, Lisa “Kennedy” Montgomery, and Jackie DeAngelis.
In addition, FOXBusiness.com will live-stream the debate beginning at 9/8c. The site will also feature live updates throughout the evening, including real-time futures and international market reaction to the debate.
Fox News
Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum will co-anchor Fox News’ coverage from Salt Lake City, Utah, and they will be joined throughout by a team of commentators for analysis, including Chris Wallace, Brit Hume, Dana Perino, and Juan Williams. Contributors Donna Brazile, Karl Rove, and Katie Pavlich will also offer analysis throughout the evening. Bill Hemmer will also co-anchor America’s Newsroom, and later in the evening evening, Hannity will be air live at 11 p.m. ET, followed by special editions of The Ingraham Angle at 12 a.m. ET, and FOX News @ Night with Shannon Bream at 1 a.m. ET.
Over on the audio side, Fox News Radio will provide live coverage of the vice presidential debate with an hour-long pre-show beginning at 8 p.m. ET, with coverage led by Jared Halpern and Josh Kraushaar. After the debate, the Fox News Rundown podcast will provide analysis of the evening. Fox Nation, Fox News Channel’s subscription-based streaming service, will present a post-debate special hosted by Tomi Lahren and will feature a panel to break down the major developments of the night.
MSNBC
MSNBC’s VP debate pre-show begins at 8/7c. Rachel Maddow, Joy Reid, Nichole Wallace, and Brian Williams will anchor the network’s coverage of the debate, with Steve Kornacki stationed at the “Big Board” with polling data. The quartet of anchors will then provide post-debate coverage and analysis, and Ari Melber will continue special coverage at 12:30 a.m. ET.
NBC
NBC’s 2020 Vice Presidential Debate: NBC News Special will begin its live coverage with anchor Chuck Todd hosting an NBC Now pre-debate special at 8/7c. Kasie Hunt will also join Todd for the coverage. Then, Lester Holt and Savannah Guthrie will anchor from NBC News Headquarters in New York, while Todd and Andrea Mitchell co-anchor from Washington D.C.
NBC News Now’s coverage will also be available to stream on Peacock, YouTube, Fubo, Xumo, Pluto, and NBC News’ appts on Roku, Fire TV, and Apple TV. The NBC News digital team will also live-blog the debate with highlights and takeaways, along with reporting from Alex Seitz-Wald and Sahil Kapur, debate analysis from Jonathan Allen, and fact-checking by Jane C. Timm and Adam Edelman.
PBS NewsHour
PBS NewsHour’s coverage of the vice presidential debate will begin at 6/5c with its nightly broadcast and an hour of election-related programming. Beginning at 8/7c, NewsHour’s Daniel Bush will host a digital pre-show focusing on what to expect from the debate and key issues with the election cycle. PBS will also livestream its debate coverage on YouTube.
The Roku Channel
The Roku Channel will begin its live coverage of the VP debate at 9/8c.
Spectrum Networks
Spectrum Networks’ live coverage of the debate will begin at 9/8c across more than 30 news networks in nine states including battleground state Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Texas.
Following the debate, Spectrum News will air the one-hour special Decision 2020: Spectrum News Post-Debate Special hosted by Errol Louis. The broadcast will feature a roundtable of political anchors from the regional markets across the country including Texas’ Karina Kling, North Carolina’s Tim Boyum, Orlando’s Ybeth Bruzual, and Southern California’s Alex Cohen, who will be speaking live from the debate site in Salt Lake City. Plus, Bob Hardt will analyze how the Pence-Harris debate compares to past VP debates and Susan Arbetter will fact-check the candidates. Spectrum’s D.C. Bureau and regional political journalists will also report on important issues at the state and local levels.
The Spectrum News app, which is available to all Spectrum customers, will feature political journalists Karina Kling (Texas), Holly Gregory (Tampa Bay), Taylor Popielarz (Ohio), Jeevan Vital (New York), and Taurean Small (Wisconsin). Plus, Alex Cohen (Southern California), Ybeth Bruzual (Orlando), and Tim Boyum (North Carolina) will live blog throughout the debate.