While the centerpiece of election night coverage will be reporting and analysis, many broadcasters have upped their technology game to make understanding emerging trends and results easier to understand and more digestible for viewers.
From virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) sets, touchscreens, multiview on-screen presentations and vertically oriented video for mobile devices, broadcasters are deploying new or improved technology on air to improve their production of election night coverage.
Here are summaries of the coverage plans of several leading broadcast organizations.
ABC News
“World News Tonight” anchor David Muir will lead ABC News’ seven hours of live election-night coverage beginning at 7 p.m. ET.
ABC will broadcast its coverage of the results as well as stream via ABC News Live, Hulu and Disney+. ABC News Digital will offer election maps, present voting data, track races and update a blog throughout election night. Its ABC News app will show results and the congressional balance of power as well as vertical videos via its Verts feed.
ABC News launched Verts in early October to deliver news for mobile-first viewers. Users should use the icon at the bottom of the navigation bar to access the vertical feeds.
The network’s NewsOne news service will share reporting with local TV stations throughout the day, and ABC News Radio will present several hours of coverage beginning at 7 p.m. ET.
CBS News
begins its main election night coverage, “America Decides Election 2026,” at 7 p.m. ET across the CBS broadcast network, CBS News 24/7 and its digital platforms. “CBS Evening News” anchor Tony Dokoupil and “CBS Mornings” co-host Norah O’Donnell will host coverage.
CBS News will also offer a dedicated live election analysis program, “The Nerd Show,” on nonlinear platforms for the first time beginning at 5 p.m. ET. Anthony Salvanto, CBS News executive director of elections and surveys, and Caitlin Huey-Burns, CBS News congressional correspondent, will host.
All 15 CBS-owned station will integrate their new AV/VR election centers into coverage for visual storytelling and interactive data analysis. The election center is built on CBS’s proprietary AR/VR technology, first deployed at KPIX San Francisco.
Journalists can use the AR/VR platform to explain races, ballot measures, voting trends and results in a more visual manner with the help of immersive maps, 3D graphics and dynamic visualizations.
CNN
“Election Night in America” kicks off at 4 p.m. ET with Jake Tapper and Anderson Cooper co-anchoring live from Washington. Leading up to the evening coverage, CNN will kick its election programming with “Election Day in America,” beginning at 12 a.m. ET.
CNN International will carry CNN’s election programming starting at 12 a.m. ET. CNN en Español will begin its special “Voto Latino” primetime coverage at 7 p.m. ET through midnight.
The news network’s coverage will extend across its digital platforms, including CNN.com and the CNN mobile app with custom vertical video livestreams.
CNN subscribers can stream live special election coverage and access exclusive, subscriber-only programming, including 20/26 Vision, a pop-up midterms newsletter with analysis and interactive experiences available via CNN.com, CNN apps and connected TV devices.
The network will debut Sightline, a new tool that translates results based on what experts see in the data, as well as the interactive Magic Wall via the CNN app and CNN.com. CNN subscribers will also have access to historical data within the app.
Fox News
Fox News Media will deliver multiplatform coverage of the midterm elections. Fox News Channel coverage kicks off at 6 p.m. with “Fox News Democracy ’26,” co-anchored by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum. Fox Business Network will simulcast FNC’s coverage until 6 a.m. on Nov. 4.
Fox News will expand its augmented reality and data-driven graphics for election night coverage. Enhanced visualizations will illustrate county-level voting shifts compared to previous elections, track the balance of power in Congress and provide additional context,
Its versatile graphics packages, templates and automated production process will enable its teams to respond quickly to breaking developments.
Fox will also stream “Ruthless Live! Midterm Election Show” live from Washington, D.C., 8-11 p.m. on Fox Digital and Fox Nation.
Fox News Digital will offer a live blog, Fox News Power Rankings, which will track results and deliver real-time developments until the polls close. It will incorporate Fox News Voter Analysis.
The Fox News App will debut a new “Midterms 2026” tab that leverages AI technology to deliver in-depth insights into races.
NBCUniversal
NBC News “Decision ’26” will present 13 hours of continuous midterm election programming beginning at 5 p.m. ET and continuing through 6 a.m. ET on Nov. 4.
Savannah Guthrie, Tom Llamas, Kristen Welker and Hallie Jackson will lead primetime coverage from NBC News’ election headquarters in New York City. NBC News has updated its Big Board with an enhanced dual-screen experience with new visualizations of state maps, vote breakdowns, exit polls and balance of congressional power.
The broadcaster will deploy its “[Steve] Kornacki Cam” for behind-the-scenes access to results as they come in.
Peacock will offer viewers a new way to track developments with a multiview experience, bringing together multiple sources of live information on a single screen. Beginning 5:30 p.m. ET, multiview will enable viewers to follow NBC News NOW live election coverage, the Kornacki Cam and real-time election results. Peacock’s coverage kicks off 30 minutes prior.
NBCUniversal’s election coverage is powered by the NBC News Decision Desk. NBC News and Noticias Telemundo will collaborate throughout the day, sharing reporting resources, election data and expertise to deliver English- and Spanish-language coverage.
Nexstar Media Group
Nexstar’s NewsNation will present its midterm election coverage from 7 p.m. ET to midnight. Chris Cuomo, Elizabeth Vargas, Leland Vittert, Katie Pavlich and Chris Stirewalt will co-anchor “Decision Desk 2026: Election Night in America.”
The broadcaster will again partner with Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ) for independent race call information on election night. NewsNation will take a data-driven approach, focusing on the most consequential races across the country and the biggest developments as they unfold in real time.
Coverage will place a special emphasis on DDHQ’s data scientist Scott Tranter and a team of data analysts stationed in an election war room at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy.
Election day coverage will begin at 6 a.m. ET with NewsNation’s “Morning in America” anchored by Markie Martin in Chicago and The Hill’s Blake Burman in Washington, D.C.
NewsNationNow.com and the NewsNation mobile app will offer live, up-to-the-second race results powered by DDHQ in addition to real-time updates on the balance of power in Congress. Throughout the evening, NewsNation will also present a live blog.
Sinclair
Sinclair’s “National News Desk Election Night Special” will air across the station group’s The CW and MyNetworkTV stations from 8 p.m. ET till midnight. It will also air via YouTube.
Dee Dee Gatton will anchor the four-hour special, leading coverage as results unfold across the country. Ryan Smith will deliver continuous updates from the Live Desk, tracking election results and the issues driving voters to the polls.
The National News Desk will debut its new state-of-the-art video wall and interactive touchscreen during its election night coverage. The wall and touchscreen will allow journalists to examine results in real time, visualize voting patterns and track competitive races.
Rather than focusing on political panels, the special will focus on the races, results and issues. Coverage will draw on reporting from Sinclair’s local journalists who will provide firsthand reporting and context from communities around the country.
“Election Night is fundamentally a local story, and Sinclair is uniquely positioned to bring viewers both the national picture and the reporting coming directly from communities across the country,” Sinclair Senior Vice President of News Scott Livingston said.
DirecTV
DirecTV customers with supported Gemini or Genie devices will be able to monitor election results on four channels at once, with an Election HQ mix channel offering HD coverage from CNN, Newsmax TV, MS NOW and Fox News Channel on a single screen.
DirecTV customers using Gemini or Genie can access Election HQ on channels 71 or 200 or by selecting Election HQ on the Home screen or guide or via a red button on participating news channels.
DirecTV’s Election HQ will be available Nov. 2-4 with an extension if necessary. Watching Election HQ requires a supported DirecTV device. It is not available via the DirecTV app on other streaming devices, smartphones, tablets or web browsers.
