Broadcast Nets Say They're Ready

For the traditional TV news outlets, Tuesday is the equivalent of the Super Bowl, as their hours of extended coverage will reach more viewers with election results coverage than any other night of the year, according to The LA Times.

“It’s a defining night for a news division,” said Steve Capus, executive editor of CBS News. “All of your MVPs are in the game. Everything was done for years now leads up to this moment.”

CBS will give prime-time exposure to its “CBS This Morning” team of Charlie Rose, Gayle King and Norah O’Donnell on election night. CBSN, the division’s digital channel, is expecting record traffic from viewers who want to stream coverage over the web.

NBC News will transform the area surrounding its Rockefeller Center headquarters into “Democracy Plaza,” bathing the concrete canyon in midtown Manhattan with red, white and blue lights. The iconic electoral college map — first conceived at NBC 40 years ago — will take shape in the skating rink for coverage on NBC and MSNBC.

ABC News will stream coverage throughout the day on Facebook Live before heading to its Times Square Studio for prime-time coverage on the broadcast network.

The election has become a business bonanza as well. The strong demand for advertising time on the night is consistent with what the networks have seen throughout the year for the debates. Cable news networks have been the major beneficiaries. CNN is expected to hit $1 billion in profits in 2016, a first in the history of the network, while Fox News profits are projected to reach $1.67 billion, according SNL Kagan. Profits for MSNBC are expected to grow 19% to $279.6 million.

Fox News is unveiling a new studio on election night that will allow its anchors Bret Baier and Megyn Kelly to have easier access to its “decision desk” — where analysts pore over the voting results and decide when to call a state and its electoral votes for one of the candidates.

Just how long election night goes is an open question as the national polls have tightened in the past week. Obama’s victories were announced in the 11 p.m. EST hour of coverage in 2008 and 2012.

In 2004, when the results of the race between President George W. Bush and John Kerry were decided by the electoral votes in Ohio, none of the networks called the race on election night. They waited until Kerry made his concession speech the following day.

The networks’ coverage of Trump vs. Clinton could head into the wee hours of Wednesday as well.