Four years ago, I hadn’t yet joined the ranks of the cord-cutters, still clinging to my cable subscription as if I was one of the last holdouts on some remote unconquered island that, even though the war was over, still refused to surrender. A few trips around the sun later, and here I am: Subscribed to a zillion streamers, and having now figured out how I’ll keep up with all the action on Election Night by deciding that I can stay glued to NBC’s Peacock app — which has just announced an expansion of its plans for the big night.
Major events like a presidential election are one of the few, and perhaps only, remaining occasions when you might find yourself missing the convenience of live TV, when you can hop from channel to channel to sample the coverage from overpaid and over-coiffed talking heads — and, if you’re so inclined, also let yourself be drawn in by props like CNN’s Magic Wall and the myriad red-and-white speckled maps that chart the progress of the race.
In terms of Peacock, it’s expanding its popular Multiview experience from the 2024 Paris Olympics coverage to Election Night — the first time this will be available outside of sports content (which probably says something about the horserace nature of politics, but that’s neither here nor there). Drawing on NBC News coverage, Peacock’s election Multiview will present viewers with a curated three-view experience built around breaking news, data analysis and real-time results.
Figuring out how to watch live during a big moment like this is always a little tricky if you’re all-in on streaming, so I should also point out: The Multiview experience on Peacock will be available starting at 6 p.m. ET on Nov. 5 and will run until approximately 2 a.m. ET on Nov. 6. Multiview will be available across smart TVs, streaming devices, web browsers and tablets, and Peacock says that the Multiview experience will include:
- NBC News NOW: Breaking news and real-time election coverage from the NBC News team, led by Lester Holt and Savannah Guthrie
- Kornacki Cam: Analysis from NBC News national political correspondent Steve Kornacki, who’ll be posted up at the big board offering commentary about the latest results and exit polls
- Election Results and Balance of Power Map: Projected Electoral College results and other key results from the NBC News Decision Desk.
Peacock, I should add, isn’t the only streaming option offering Election Night coverage. If you’re one of the seven people right now who aren’t peeved that Jeff Bezos declined to let his Washington Post endorse Kamala Harris, you can always check out Prime Video’s newly announced offering, “Election Night Live With Brian Williams.” All the details can be found here.
