How to watch the Republican National Convention

Credit: Dennis Grombkowski

Credit: Dennis Grombkowski

So you don’t want to miss a moment — literally — of the Republican National Convention, running Monday-Thursday at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland?

Good news. There’s an app for that.

There’s also planned “gavel-to-gavel” coverage live-streaming on Twitter; rare live versions of late-night comedy TV shows on tap, and more Facebook Live broadcasts and cable news programs (18 hours alone on CNN on Sunday, the day before things officially start) than you can shake a selfie stick at.

Of course, if you still prefer the relative calm afforded by the traditional broadcast networks, you’re covered there, too. ABC, CBS and NBC each will air live convention coverage from 10 to 11 p.m. all four nights.

The rest of the time, the “big three” networks will cover the convention in other ways and on different platforms. ABC’s “Good Morning America” and the “NBC Nightly News” both will originate live from Cleveland. CBSN, the digital news service of CBS News, will offer “real-time” reporting throughout the day and live prime-time coverage starting at 7 each night.

Gone are the days when convention coverage consisted of talking heads literally opining from on high in skyboxes. Now, reporters will be tweeting and blogging right from the convention floor. Somewhere inside the arena, NBC will have an “Election Confessions” booth, where people can anonymously share their thoughts on the 2016 presidential race. Outside, the “CNN Grill” (actually, a neighboring restaurant) will welcome in lawmakers, celebrities and others for live interviews and maybe a nosh beginning at 5 p.m. daily.

In fact, there are more times and more ways to watch the conventions (the same thing will happen when the Democrats gather July 25-28 in Philadelphia) than ever before. Here’s a guide for Cleveland:

ON TV

ABC: Convention coverage 10- 11 p.m. Monday-Thursday. "Good Morning America" and "World News Tonight'" (airs 7 p.m. in Atlanta) both will originate from Cleveland from Monday through Thursday.

CBS: Live edition of "Face the Nation" originating from Cleveland on Sunday (airs 10:30 a.m. in Atlanta). Convention coverage 10- 11 p.m. Monday-Thursday. "CBS This Morning" and "CBS Evening News" both will originate from Cleveland from Monday through Thursday. CBSN (http://www.cbsnews.com/live/) will air live prime-time coverage beginning at 7 p.m. Monday-Thursday.

C-SPAN: Live gavel-to-gavel broadcast of the convention Monday-Friday. Additionally, "Washington Journal" will air live from Cleveland at 7 a.m. daily.

NBC: Live edition of "Meet the Press" originating from Cleveland on Sunday (2 p.m. in Atlanta due to this Sunday's British Open coverage). Convention coverage 10-11 p.m. Monday-Thursday. "Today" and "NBC Nightly News" (6:30 p.m. in Atlanta) both will originate from Cleveland from Monday through Thursday.

PBS: Joining forces with NPR to broadcast live prime-time coverage from Cleveland from 8 to 11 p.m. Monday-Thursday. Prime-time co-anchors Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff also will anchor "PBS NewsHour" from Cleveland all four nights (6 p.m. in Atlanta).

CNN: 18 hours of special programming Sunday, with "New Day," "Inside Politics," "State of the Union" and "Reliable Sources" all originating live from Cleveland; there will also be special convention-focused Sunday editions of weekday shows including "The Situation Room," "Erin Burnett OutFront," "AC360" and "CNN Tonight with Don Lemon." Monday-Thursday: 24 hours of live programming, including all of CNN's regular programs and a special weekday version of "Inside Politics" at the CNN Grill airing daily from noon to 1 p.m. Prime-time coverage Monday-Thursday, anchored by Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper, Dana Bash and Chris Cuomo, with Don Lemon anchoring late-night coverage.

FOX NEWS: 17 hours of special programming Sunday, with live editions of 11 shows originating from Cleveland beginning with "Fox & Friends Sunday" (6-10 a.m.) and running straight through to "Hannity" (9-11 p.m.). All of Fox's regular programming lineup will air live from Cleveland from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Thursday ("The O'Reilly Factor" will originate from Cleveland on Wednesday and Thursday), to be followed each night at 10 p.m. by "America's Election Headquarters" co-anchored by Bret Baier and Megyn Kelly, and "Hannity" from 11 p.m.-1 a.m. Fox News will continue its coverage on Friday morning with "Fox & Friends" and "America's Newsroom" airing live from Cleveland.

MSNBC: 20 hours of live reporting from the convention daily, with the following shows originating live from Cleveland from Monday through Thursday: "Morning Joe" (6 a.m.- 9 a.m.); "MTP Daily" (5 p.m.) and Chris Hayes (6 p.m.). Prime-time coverage Monday-Thursday, anchored nightly by Brian Williams, Rachel Maddow and Chris Matthews; live late-night coverage anchored from Cleveland by Matthews through 2 a.m.

LATE-NIGHT TV

"The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," 11:35 p.m. on CBS. Instead of taping early as usual, it will air live Monday-Thursday so Colbert can react to that night's convention activities. The host will be in New York, but a "Colbert" team will be in Cleveland producing pieces.

"Late Night with Seth Meyers," 12:35 p.m. on NBC. Airing live on Thursday only, so Meyers (who's delighted in tweaking Donald Trump on air) can react to that night's acceptance speech by the presumed Republican nominee.

"Real Time with Bill Maher," 11 p.m. on HBO. Stepping out from his usual Friday night slot, Maher will do half-hour shows from Cleveland on Wednesday and Thursday nights. They'll also be live-streamed on the show's YouTube channel and available on Maher's Facebook page the next day.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Twitter: Officially partnering with CBS to carry the live, gavel-to-gavel convention feed from CBSN from Monday through Thursday (@CBSNews). The video will be enhanced with real-time tweets about the convention from anchors, reporters and others.

Facebook Live:

C-SPAN will air live, commercial- and commentary-free coverage on its Facebook page (

) from 8-11 p.m. Monday-Thursday. Facebook also will have a “Facebook Lounge” on-site that major national and local media organizations will be able to use as a studio for their own Facebook Live broadcasts.

STREAMING

There’s an official Republican National Convention app for free download to iOS or Android devices. A “Watch Now” function will stream all convention activities.

The major broadcast and cable networks will stream much or all of their convention coverage online (For broadcast networks, go to: ABCNews.com, CBSNews.com, NBCNews.com). They also have free apps for watching coverage on mobile devices and other streaming services such as Apple TV, Roku and Xbox One.

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