Hoping to capitalize on its position as a real-time source for news as well as a place to comment on live events, Twitter announced this morning it has partnered with CBS News for the upcoming Democratic presidential debate taking place on November 14. Twitter says it will provide CBS News with real-time data and insights from the event, as well as bring in live reactions and questions from viewers around the country.
CBS will then integrate this data and the viewer commentary and questions into its live coverage. The official hashtag for the event will be #DemDebate, and Twitter has provided an official list of all current candidates for users to follow here.
This is the sort of interactive, real-time information that Twitter excels at providing – and arguably a business that Twitter could have invested more in as it grew over the years. It’s promising, then, to see Twitter forge an official deal to partner on the live news coverage at such a high-profile U.S. political event. In fact, this will be the first debate where the company had an official presence, though with its newly launched “Moments” feature, Twitter has covered other political events in recent days, including town halls, campaign coverage, and more.
Meanwhile, Facebook previously scored deals to partner with Fox News on the first GOP debate, and with CNN on the Democratic debate.
“CBS News is so pleased to partner with Twitter on our Democratic Debate,” said CBS News President David Rhodes, in a statement. “Our people have worked with Twitter’s unique curator tools to measure changing responses to what viewers will see on the screen. This Twitter integration will inform our coverage and integrate seamlessly with CBSN, our always-on digital network.”
The debate itself will be moderated by the anchor of “Face the Nation” and CBS News political director John Dickerson, and will be broadcast from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, through CBS affiliate KCCI-TV and the Des Moines Register. It will air at 9 PM ET on all CBS News networks, including CBS and CBSN.