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Facebook will livestream a presidential debate for the first time

The companies previously teamed up this year to provide live coverage of the 2016 Democratic and Republican conventions.

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ABC News and Facebook are partnering up to deliver live video coverage of the 2016 presidential debates between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump on Facebook.

In addition, throughout each debate day, ABC News’ Facebook feed will offer live streams from around the debate host cities, inside the spin room, and from watch parties across the country.

While each of the ninety-minute debates will air on ABC News” Facebook page without any advertising (they will also air on TV without commercial breaks), ABC will precede the debates with two hours of analysis from contributors Matthew Dowd, Elzie Lee “LZ’ Granderson, Dan Harris, and Amna Nawaz, according to Variety. Viewers will be able to ask questions and make comments, which ABC says will be incorporated into the Facebook Live coverage.

“As we move further into the election cycle, there continues to be a voracious appetite for live content and we know many users turn to Facebook to engage and participate in the conversation”, he continued.

But Tuesday’s announcement is a sign of a new age for TV.

The debates kick off next Monday, Sept. 26, with Clinton and Trump squaring off at Hofstra U.in Hempstead, N.Y., moderated by NBC News anchor Lester Holt. (Or even if they do have an antenna, they may spend more time “watching TV” simply by streaming it from services like Netflix.) Meanwhile, social networks like Facebook and Twitter have been heavily investing in live video in order to capitalize in this shift in viewing behavior. In July, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said Facebook was adopting a “video-first” strategy to cater to users who the company expects will be consuming mostly video online in as little as five years.

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Facebook will also have a physical presence at these debates. The Vice-Presidential debate will be held on October 4th in Farmville, Virginia.

ABC News Will Partner With Facebook To Live Stream All Four General Election Debates