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Beto O’Rourke will be on CNN for a nationally televised town tonight, appearing without opponent Ted Cruz. Just two days earlier, Beto and Cruz faced off in a local debate. CNN originally intended the town hall to involve both candidates, but now Beto will be on CNN by himself. Read on to learn more about how to watch the town hall live.
CNN had originally offered the town hall to both candidates, but Cruz declined the offer. Cruz later contacted CNN and said he would agree to the event if it was a debate instead of a town hall. O’Rourke’s campaign did not agree to the change in terms.
Here are the letters from Cruz and CNN:
Per letters from Cruz campaign: Cruz still wants to turn CNN’s Thursday town hall with O’Rourke into a debate, and CNN says it would oblige if O’Rourke agrees
Town Hall Time & TV Channel
You can watch the town hall starting at 7 p.m. Eastern/6 p.m. Central.
The town hall will be broadcast live on CNN. To find what channel CNN is on for you on your cable or satellite network, click here to go to TV Guide’s listings. Then change the “Provider” (right under TV Listings) to your local provider. You’ll be able to scroll down to see what channel CNN is on in your region.
How to Live Stream with a Cable Subscription
If you have a cable or satellite subscription, you can live stream the event through one of many options offered by CNN.
CNN told Heavy the following about live streaming options for tonight:
“The CNN livestream will be available on CNN.com‘s homepage and across mobile devices via CNN’s apps for iOS and Android. It can also be viewed on CNNgo (at CNN.com/goon your desktop, smartphone, and iPad, and via CNNgo apps for Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire and Android TV). Watch live CNN TV on any device, anywhere.”
The event is only streamable if authenticated, so you’ll need a cable log-in subscription for the above options.
Live Stream Options Without Cable or Satellite
If you don’t have a cable or satellite subscription, there multiple ways you can live stream CNN. Read on for details.
In addition to a Netflix-like on-demand streaming library, Hulu also offers a bundle of 50-plus live TV channels, including CNN. You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the show on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch live, “Hulu with Live TV” comes with both its extensive on-demand library (which has most shows available after they air) and 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of DVR space and the ability to fast forward through commercials).
CNN is included in both the “Sling Orange” and “Sling Blue” channel packages. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial of either, and you can then watch the show live on your computer via the Sling TV website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Sling TV app.
If you can’t watch live, you can get 50 hours of cloud DVR storage as an additional add-on.
PlayStation Vue offers four different channel packages, all of which include CNN. You can sign up for a free 5-day trial right here (you don’t need to have PlayStation to sign up), and you can then watch a live stream of the show on your computer via the PS Vue website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the PS Vue app.
If you can’t watch live, PlayStation Vue comes with cloud DVR, but there are some restrictions.
Watching the next day: If you’re not interested in watching the town hall live, you can catch it later on Demand from your local cable system, or on CNN mobile apps or the CNNgo platform.
Dana Bash will be moderating tonight’s town hall, which will be hosted at the McAllen Performing Arts Center in McAllen, Texas.