DirecTV is upping its midterm election coverage for satellite subscribers, as it plans to launch next week Election HQ – a channel simulcasting election results from four different news channels.
Starting on November 7, DirecTV viewers will be able to tune into election coverage from Fox News, CNN, MSNBC and BBC. Election HQ will show a single-screen mosaic of the four channels, providing side-by-side coverage of the election results in real-time.
DirecTV said those four networks were chosen because they are the news channels most frequently featured in the provider’s News Mix channel.
Election HQ will primarily feature national election results along with some gubernatorial election coverage. Viewers will be able to see the results via a ticker on the screen, or they can use an interactive app to access state-by-state results and key ballet outcomes.
It’s not the first time DirecTV is simulcasting election results, as it provided multi-screen coverage of the 2016 presidential elections. The pay TV provider has also offered mix channels of major sporting events like the U.S. Open, Wimbledon and the Women’s U.S. Open.
“The 2022 mid-term election is a critical one for the future of our country, including 36 gubernatorial elections with important outcomes for many states,” stated DirecTV.
With election season at its peak, DirecTV is facing channel blackouts from Nexstar-managed Mission Broadcasting and White Knight Broadcasting, as the parties failed to reach a retransmission consent agreement last month.
DirecTV urged the broadcasters to restore local stations through the midterm elections, but the company stated on Friday that both Mission and White Knight “have flat-out refused our requests to return their 25 local stations to our customers in 23 media markets.”
The upcoming elections are causing a lot of ad dollars to flow, with Comcast’s Effectv projecting political ad spend will hit a record $9 billion this year. Sinclair also noted the effect of political advertising on its business, estimating a total of $335-$340 million by the end of 2022.