Nearly half of people polled recently by the
Pew Research Center said they intend to follow
election night returns closely. It’s easy to see
this year eclipsing 2008’s record of 71.5 million
people who watched for results, and many will
have laptops, tablets or smartphones ready for a
multi-screen experience.
CBS News built a new studio where pop stars
once visited MTV’s “Total Request Live,” and
Fox News hired the makers of the “Fortnite”
video game to design whiz-bang graphics, an
illustration of the money and planning that goes
in to the quadrennial event.
Live television coverage will extend into the
early morning of Nov. 4 and perhaps beyond.
NBC News has mapped out a schedule to
stay on the air for days if necessary, said Noah
Oppenheim, NBC News president.
Besides the traditional broadcast and cable
news networks, there will be live-stream options
from the likes of The Washington Post and
others, including websites filled with graphics
and raw numbers.
“There is an odd combination of anticipation
and uncertainty about this election night, more
than any other election night I can remember,”
said David Bohrman, a television veteran who
this year is producing the CBS News coverage.
Election nights always have surprises, but the
worry this year is being driven by the large
number of people voting early or by mail, in part
driven by the coronavirus. By many estimates,
the early vote will eclipse the number of people
going to polling places on Election Day for the
first time.