Here’s How Broadcast Networks Are Covering Inauguration Day

The inauguration of Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Kamala Harris as president and vice president of the United States will take place on Wednesday, Jan. 20, with events interspersed throughout the day, highlighted by the swearing-in ceremony at 12 p.m. ET, and President Biden’s inaugural address immediately after.

Here’s how broadcast networks are covering the inauguration of America’s 46th president. Cable network coverage plans will post Tuesday.

ABC:

• On Tuesday, Jan. 19 ABC News will present special reports on ABC on the events of the day.
• On Wednesday, Jan. 20 the network will cover Inauguration Day and all major events beginning with a special edition of Good Morning America at 7 a.m. ET, including the swearing-in ceremony, visit to Arlington Cemetery, the inaugural military and virtual parade, and Biden’s inaugural address.
• At 8 p.m. ET ABC News will present a prime time program, The Inauguration of Joseph R. Biden, Jr. – An ABC News Special, that will provide reporting on and analysis of the historic moments from the day.
• At 8:30 p.m. ET ABC will air Celebrating America, the prime time special previously announced by the Presidential Inaugural Committee.
• World News Tonight with David Muir and Nightline will also present special editions on Wednesday, Jan. 20.
• Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos will lead coverage with World News Tonight anchor and managing editor David Muir, Good Morning America co-anchors Robin Roberts and Michael Strahan, and ABC News Live Prime anchor Linsey Davis.
• ABC News’ political team will include chief White House correspondent Jonathan Karl, senior White House correspondent Cecilia Vega, senior congressional correspondent Mary Bruce, Nightline co-anchor Byron Pitts, chief global affairs correspondent and This Week co-anchor Martha Raddatz, chief justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas, World News Tonight Weekend anchor and chief national affairs correspondent Tom Llamas,  senior national correspondent Terry Moran,  White House correspondent Rachel Scott, chief business correspondent Rebecca Jarvis, chief medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton, Good Morning America Weekend Co-Anchor Eva Pilgrim, GMA3: What You Need To Know co-Anchor T.J. Holmes, chief national correspondent Matt Gutman, transportation correspondent Gio Benitez, correspondent Deborah Roberts, multi-platform reporter Faith Abubey, political director Rick Klein, deputy political director MaryAlice Parks, chief legal analyst Dan Abrams, contributors Chris Christie, Yvette Simpson, Rahm Emanuel, Heidi Heitkamp, Kate Shaw and Sara Fagen, and LBJ Foundation President and CEO and presidential historian Mark Updegrove.
• Streaming news channel ABC News Live will detail the unprecedented challenges facing Biden and his incoming administration with primetime special, The Inauguration of Joseph R. Biden, Jr., airing Tuesday, January 19 (8-9 p.m. ET and 10-11 p.m. ET).
  • Anchored by Holmes with reporting from Davis, Raddatz, Scott, Moran, correspondent Alex Perez and senior Washington reporter Devin Dwyer, the one-hour special will dive into pivotal topics that will shape the 46th president’s time in the White House, including the siege on the Capitol, the political and racial divide, the Covid-19 pandemic, the economy, healthcare, immigration, and education. The special will also chronicle Biden’s life, looking at how he became president and the bipartisan relationships he built throughout his political career, and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ journey to becoming the first woman and woman of color elected to the office. Additionally, the special will take a close look at how Biden and his administration will handle the American press and global affairs.  ABC News Live will air an encore presentation Wednesday, Jan. 20 (8-9 a.m. ET).
• ABC News Live will provide live coverage of Inauguration Day beginning at 9 a.m. ET. ABC News Live Update Anchor Diane Macedo, Moran and correspondent Kyra Phillips will anchor live coverage beginning at 3 p.m. ET with ABC News’ political team and presidential historians providing context and analysis of the day’s significant moments. Davis will take over live coverage with ABC News Live Prime at 7 p.m. ET.
• ABC News will have comprehensive digital coverage of the inauguration, including a blog with live updates throughout the day, a look back at past notable inaugurations and a highlights video with the biggest moments of the inauguration that will be updated regularly.
• ABC News’ digital video series Examined will have episodes on Trump’s final days and how this is an inauguration like never before. Social newscast On Location will feature coverage leading up to and on Inauguration Day – exclusively for Facebook Watch.
• FiveThirtyEight will preview Inauguration Day on FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast and follow day’s events in real-time on the site’s live blog, with up-to-the-minute analysis.
• ABC News Radio will offer extensive live anchored coverage of the inauguration events, starting with the Covid-19 memorial ceremony on Tuesday, Jan. 19.
• On Wednesday, Jan. 20 ABC News Radio will offer a prime time special report that includes coverage of the planned celebration at the Lincoln Memorial.
• Correspondent Aaron Katersky will anchor from the Capitol with reporting by correspondent Karen Travers, correspondents Alex Stone and Mark Remillard, and multi-platform reporter Ines de La Cuetara. Coverage will also include reporting and analysis by former White House correspondent Ann Compton, political analyst Steve Roberts, and ABC News’ political team and security experts.
• Portions of the live coverage will be available after airing live as episodes of the ABC News Radio Specials podcast, available on all podcast platforms.
• Throughout the day, ABC News Radio will also offer multiple Status Reports each hour and custom interviews with affiliates.
• ABC News’ flagship daily podcast Start Here, hosted by Brad Mielke, will post a special edition on Wednesday, January 20 featuring the latest reporting on the Inauguration.
• ABC NewsOne, the affiliate news service of ABC News, will provide full coverage with multi-platform reporters Alex Presha and Elizabeth Schulze, plus analysis from Travers and Klein. NewsOne provides news content and services for more than 200 ABC affiliates and international news partners.

CBS:

• CBS News will deliver comprehensive coverage of the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on Jan. 20 across all platforms, including CBS TV, CBSN, CBSNews.com and CBS News Radio. The all-day coverage will feature live interviews and political analysis.
• CBS This Morning will kick off the day’s coverage with co-hosts Gayle King, Anthony Mason, and Tony Dokoupil broadcasting live from Washington.
• CBS Evening News anchor and managing editor Norah O’Donnell will lead CBS News’ special coverage on the CBS Television Network beginning at 9 a.m. ET, from Washington.
• Joining O’Donnell will be Face the Nation moderator Margaret Brennan, CBS News chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett, CBS News chief Congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes, CBS News senior political analyst and 60 Minutes contributor John Dickerson and CBS News political correspondent Ed O’Keefe, who has covered Biden for the last two years.
• Providing up-to-the-minute reports on security and law enforcement will be CBS News chief justice and homeland security correspondent Jeff Pegues and CBS News senior investigative correspondent Catherine Herridge, who have reported extensively on security issues in the wake of the siege in Washington.
• CBS News White House correspondents Weijia Jiang, Paula Reid, Ben Tracy; CBS News correspondent Nikole Killion; CBS News transportation correspondent Kris Van Cleave; CBS News Washington correspondent Chip Reid; CBS News national correspondent Jericka Duncan; and CBS News chief legal correspondent Jan Crawford will all contribute to the special coverage.
• CBS News will also have correspondents across the country with reactions and reporting as the inauguration takes place: David Begnaud in Lansing, MI; Manuel Bojorquez in West Palm Beach, FL; Nancy Chen and Nikki Battiste in New York; Carter Evans in Phoenix; Lilia Luciano in Los Angeles; Meg Oliver in Madison, WI; Janet Shamlian in Austin, TX; Jonathan Vigliotti in Salem, OR; and Omar Villafranca in Atlanta.
• CBSN’s Anne-Marie Green, Vladimir Duthiers, Tanya Rivero, Elaine Quijano, and Lana Zak with politics reporter Caitlin Huey-Burns will provide the latest news and headlines on the Network’s free streaming news service.
• The coverage continues into primetime with an original CBS News half-hour special One Nation: Indivisible (8-8:30 p.m. ET). Anchored by Norah O’Donnell and featuring the reporting of Gayle King, Erin Moriarty and Peter Van Sant, the special will look at the lives of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and their paths to the White House and include interviews with people on both sides of the political divide talking about what the new administration means for them.

Fox:

• On Fox Broadcasting, anchor Harris Faulkner will provide live coverage on the ground in Washington, D.C. on Inauguration Day beginning at 11 a.m. ET, which will be offered to all Fox affiliates and available to stream on FoxNews.com.
• Also contributing to Fox Broadcasting will be FNC’s Kristin Fisher and Jacqui Heinrich.

NBC:

• A special edition of Today will begin at 7 a.m. ET; Lester Holt, Savannah Guthrie, Chuck Todd and Andrea Mitchell will lead NBC News’ special coverage starting at 10 a.m. ET.
• A special edition of Today will kick off NBC News’ inauguration coverage on Wednesday, Jan. 20 at 7 a.m. ET with co-anchors Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb. Former first daughter and Today with Hoda & Jenna co-host Jenna Bush Hager will join Guthrie and Kotb for a special interview tied to the day’s events.
• Today news anchor and 3rd Hour co-host Craig Melvin will be live from the nation’s capital with on-the-ground updates and reporting for Today and throughout the network’s day-long special coverage.
• Also in D.C., Today’s feature anchor and 3rd Hour co-host Al Roker will join Today’s and NBC News’ coverage of the day’s events.
• Starting at 10 a.m. ET and throughout the day, NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt and Today co-anchor and NBC News chief legal correspondent Savannah Guthrie will anchor from NBC News Headquarters in New York and Meet the Press moderator and NBC News political director Chuck Todd and NBC News chief foreign affairs correspondent and chief Washington correspondent Andrea Mitchell will anchor from Washington, D.C.
• Special coverage will also stream live on NBC News Now.
• To top off a day of inaugural events, there will be an expanded special one-hour edition of NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt featuring NBC News correspondents from the White House, the nation’s capital and across America, along with analysis beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. CT.
• NBC News and MSNBC correspondents and reporters will contribute to inauguration coverage from Capitol Hill, the White House, the National Mall and more including Al Roker, Kristen Welker, Peter Alexander, Hallie Jackson, Kelly O’Donnell, Geoff Bennett, Monica Alba, Kasie Hunt, Pete Williams, Ali Velshi, Yasmin Vossoughian, Steve Kornacki, Garrett Haake, Tom Costello, Mike Memoli, Carol Lee, Chris Jansing, Morgan Radford, Ellison Barber, Vaughn Hillyard, Shaquille Brewster, Gabe Gutierrez, Leigh Ann Caldwell, Gadi Schwartz, Ali Vitali, Trymaine Lee, Shannon Pettypiece, Sahil Kapur, Allan Smith and Lauren Egan.
• Richard Engel and Keir Simmons will join with updates on global reactions.
• Dasha Burns, Maura Barrett, Antonia Hylton, Catie Beck, Blayne Alexander, Jacob Ward, and Morgan Chesky will be reporting at State Capitols across the country.
• NBC News Now will stream live special coverage beginning at 7 a.m. ET.
  • NBC News Now will stream special, live, wall-to-wall coverage beginning at 7 a.m. ET on Inauguration Day with Morning News Now, anchored by Joe Fryer and Savannah Sellers and continuing with NBC News special coverage at 10 a.m. ET.
  • Evening News Now will be live with Alison Morris covering the news of the day and continue until 8 p.m. ET with additional special coverage from NBC News.
  • NBC News Now is available to stream live and on demand on Peacock, NBCUniversal’s new streaming service, as well as on The Roku Channel, YouTube TV, Fubo, Xumo, Pluto, Tubi and NBC News’ OTT apps on Roku, Fire TV and Apple TV. Viewers can also stream coverage live on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
• NBC News Digital will present inauguration coverage across myriad platforms.
  • NBCNews.com will host a live blog with contributions from political reporters Rebecca Shabad and Dartunorro Clark, Adam Edelman, Jane C. Timm and Alex Seitz-Wald.
  • Jon Allen will provide additional analysis. NBC News diversity verticals will also contribute to the live blog, including Suzanne Gamboa and Nicole Acevedo from NBC Latino, Char Adams from NBCBLK and Kimmy Yam and Sakshi Venkatraman from NBC Asian America.
  • NBC News’ Stay Tuned will continuously update its shows on Snapchat throughout the day. Savannah Sellers will host and will be joined by Gadi Schwartz, on the ground in Washington, DC.
  • NBC News’ podcast Into America, hosted by Trymaine Lee, will publish a special episode on Thursday dedicated to Inauguration Day and recent events at the Capitol.
• NBC Newsers will present special streaming coverage of the inauguration of The Choice – A free, exclusive channel on Peacock.
  • Stephanie Ruhle will open special streaming coverage starting at 8 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Jan. 20.
  • Starting at 10 a.m. ET, Morning Joe co-hosts Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist will anchor continuing inauguration coverage with the latest breaking news, insights and analysis.
  • At 1 p.m. ET, MSNBC Live anchors Katy Tur and Ayman Mohyeldin will lead live coverage and analysis as the historic day continues.
  • At 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. ET, Zerlina Maxwell and Mehdi Hasan will host Zerlina. and The Mehdi Hasan Show at their regular times, focused on the day’s events.
  • The Week’s Joshua Johnson will continue special coverage from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET.
  • Ahead of Inauguration Day, MSNBC Live anchor and NBC News senior business correspondent Stephanie Ruhle will spearhead live coverage of Joe Biden’s arrival in Washington, D.C. and the Presidential Inauguration Committee’s national memorial to honor the victims of Covid-19 at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Tuesday, Jan. 19, starting at 3 p.m. ET.

PBS:

• PBS NewsHour will provide live coverage of Inauguration Day 2021 on PBS stations nationwide beginning at 10:30 am ET.
• The broadcast will be anchored by managing editor Judy Woodruff, with contributions from White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor, Capitol Hill correspondent Lisa Desjardins, senior national correspondent Amna Nawaz, national correspondent William Brangham and foreign affairs and defense correspondent Nick Schifrin, among other TBD NewsHour talent and guests.
• NewsHour will also offer live, anchored coverage of the Presidential Inaugural Committee’s Celebrating America program from 8-10 p.m. ET.  The prime time special will include live remarks from Biden and Harris.
• In addition to their broadcast on PBS stations, both programs will stream on PBS NewsHour’s digital and social platforms.

Telemundo:

• Noticias Telemundo will offer multiplatform coverage of the inauguration of President-elect Joseph Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on Wednesday, January 20, anchored live from Washington D.C. and featuring over 12 hours of news and information including a coast-to-coast broadcast, a one-hour evening news special and special digital content.
• Noticias Telemundo’s anchors, correspondents and digital reporters will be joined by a team of political analysts and commentators to provide on-the-ground updates and reporting plus in-depth analysis on the day’s events.
• The network’s on-air and digital coverage will feature reactions and commentary from Hispanics across the United States and examine critical issues of interest to Latinos, including the coronavirus pandemic, the economy, immigration, among others.
• José Díaz-Balart will anchor Noticias Telemundo’s special coverage from the nation’s capital together with Vanessa Hauc and Julio Vaqueiro.
• Telemundo’s morning show, Un Nuevo Dia will kick off the day’s on-air coverage at 7 a.m. ET with anchor Nicole Suarez and Antonio Texeira, anchor of Al Rojo Vivo, Telemundo’s news magazine show.
• Noticias Telemundo will continue its live special coverage at 9 a.m. ET and throughout the afternoon with reports from a team of correspondents in Washington D.C., led by Washington Bureau Chief Lori Montenegro, including Senior Washington Correspondent Cristina Londoño, Washington Correspondent Javier Vega and Senior Correspondent Rogelio Mora-Tagle along with correspondents contributing reporting from across the country.
• A special edition of Al Rojo Vivo will cover the latest developments beginning at 4 p.m ET, followed later by Noticias Telemundo’s regular 6:30 p.m. ET newscast. Noticias Telemundo will also air a news special Biden: Una nueva era (Biden: A New Era) from 7-8 p.m. ET.
• Felicidad Aveleyra and Paulina Sodi will anchor from Telemundo Center studios in Miami.
• Noticias Telemundo’s full Inauguration Day coverage will also include:
  • Noticias Telemundo’s on-air political analyst team of Victoria DeFrancesco Soto (assistant dean for civic engagement and a lecturer at the LBJ School of Public Affairs of Texas at Austin), Daniel Garza (executive director of The LIBRE Initiative) and Clarissa Martinez (vice president of policy and advocacy at UnidosUS)
  • Simultaneous livestream on com,  Noticias Telemundo’s mobile app, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter
  • Exclusive digital content presented by Noticias Telemundo correspondent Damià Bonmatí
  • Fact checks on com by T Verifica, Noticias Telemundo’s fact-checking platform

Univision:

• Univision News announces its special inauguration day coverage Cambio de Mando (Change of Command), to air live coast-to-coast from Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, January 20, 2021, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET on Univision.
• Univision will have wall-to-wall coverage on inauguration day starting at 11 a.m. ET. Cambio de Mando will air on Univision and stream live on all of its digital platforms. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be sworn in 12 p.m. ET.
• Univision News’ coverage will count with the participation of distinguished guests and generation Z commentators who will discuss the event and the most pressing issues of interest to the Hispanic community, including the Covid-19 pandemic, access to vaccines, the state of the economy, immigration and the most pressing social issues the new administration will have to work on from day one as it works to reunite the nation. They will also examine the objectives and challenges the new administration will have to face once in office and its plan for the first 100 days.
• Univision News will also cover what happens around Washington, D.C. and report from state capitols across the US during the most guarded presidential inauguration ceremony in history, in the midst of threats of political violence and the pandemic.
• Univision News anchors Ilia Calderón, Patricia Janiot and Jorge Ramos will host the special programming and from Washington D.C. and will be joined by political experts, analysts, and guests, including:
  • Carlos Díaz-Rosillo, Political Analyst and former White House Advisor; Fabián Nuñez, Democratic political analyst; Hilario Yañez and Adonias Arévalo,  Gen Talk Panel; Carlos Indacochea, guest commentator on Social Issues; Ezequiel Hernández, Univision legal contributor; Jorge Cancino, Univision News senior immigration editor; Héctor Sánchez Barba, CEO Mi Familia Vota; Dr. Juan Rivera, Univision News chief medical correspondent
• Univision News correspondents will also report from Washington, D.C.
  • Janet Rodríguez; Claudia Uceda; Edwin Pitti; Pablo Gato; María Rosa Lucchini; Carlos Chirinos; Luis Alonso Lugo 
• Univision News will publish its live blog with minute-by-minute updates, in-depth reporting and commentary at UnivisionNoticias.com.
• Univision News will also air the special: Una Nueva Era (A New Era) from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET, hosted by Ilia Calderón and Jorge Ramos and focused on the beginning of a new chapter in US politics and the promise it presents to reunite the nation.