Fox News To Launch New Digital Features For First Presidential Debate, Election Night

Ted Johnson

September 17, 2020 at 2:55 p.m.·2 min read

Fox News is boosting its digital presence starting with the first presidential debate on Sept. 29, which will be moderated by Fox News Sunday anchor Chris Wallace.

The network’s Fox News Digital Unit also is introducing new features for Election Day, as attention focuses on the impact of the expected uptick in mail-in balloting.

The features being added on Sept. 29 are aimed at “second screen” viewers, or those who will watch the debate with a separate device to connect to social media or to search for additional information.

Among the plans are a “cheer monitor” and an “audience monitor” to gauge real-time sentiment, as well as access to Fox News talent who will be live blogging throughout the debate. The features, accessible via a sign in page, above, also include debate trivia and information on candidates’ positions on issues.

On Election Night,Â the digital features include a state-by-state visual representation of the vote split, along with past data; county level presidential result maps with zooming functionality and historical data; margin of victory data with historic options; and a Fox News Channel “dial” page to track the predictability and probability of races for president, the Senate and the House. The features also include a pop-out video player so users can watch the channel while browsing the site, as well as functions to allow users to personalize their screens to track their favorite races. A real time ticker of results also will run that will mirror what is seen on TV.

According to a Nielsen study in 2018, 71% of TV viewers said that they regularly use a second screen to look up information related to the content they are watching.

Porter Berry, editor in chief of Fox News Digital, said that the new features “complements the TV experience, where folks can interact and react and engage with smart and interesting content as the debate is happening.”

The same is true for Election night, which Berry said is like the Super Bowl of politics. The new features reflect an effort to keep the Fox News viewers on network content on the second screens, rather than turn to other sites that will be providing updates and making calls during the evening.

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