CNN Will Give Free Online Access to Democratic Debate

CNN says it will again provide live online access to its televised debate coverage.

While streaming CNN is usually confined to authenticated MVPD subs, as it did with the Republican presidential debate last month, CNN says it will make the Democratic presidential debate available as a freeview to "showcase the value of TV Everywhere."

CNN's coverage will be available from 8 to 11 p.m. online and on mobile devices.

The move not only benefits non-subs, it will help increase the number of eyeballs advertisers will get for their ads in the coverage, a point a CNN spokesperson made about opening up the Republican debate to a freeview audience, though the Democratic debate will lack one big drawing card for the previous two debates: The always colorful Donald Trump.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.