Tonight is President Joe Biden’s first speech to a joint session of Congress. If you want to watch his speech live, here is what time it’s starting in different time zones and how you can watch it on TV. You can also watch a video that is embedded at the end of this story, if you prefer to watch Biden’s speech to Congress right here.
Biden’s Speech to Congress Begins at 9 PM Eastern
President Biden’s speech to a joint session of Congress will begin at 9 p.m. Eastern tonight, Wednesday, April 28, 2021. The speech is expected to be about an hour long, but coverage on most TV stations and online will last for two hours so it can include the Republicans’ response to the speech, too. In addition, this two-hour coverage will allow for Biden’s speech to go longer than an hour if he chooses to do so.
Some TV stations and live streams will even start their coverage 30 minutes to an hour early. Most news coverage will end at 11 p.m. Eastern.
Here is when Biden’s speech will start in different time zones and sample cities in the U.S. and around the world. All times are for Wednesday, April 28 unless indicated.
- 9 p.m. Eastern
- 8 p.m. Central
- 6 p.m. Pacific
- Anchorage, Alaska: 5 p.m.
- Athens: 4 a.m. Thursday
- Atlanta, Georgia: 9 p.m.
- Bangkok: 9 a.m. Thursday
- Berlin: 3 a.m. Thursday
- Brussels: 3 a.m. Thursday
- Denver: 7 p.m.
- Hong Kong: 9 a.m. Thursday
- Houston: 8 p.m.
- Indianapolis: 9 p.m.
- Jerusalem: 4 a.m. Thursday
- Las Vegas, Nevada: 6 p.m.
- Kuwait City: 4 a.m. Thursday
- London: 2 a.m. Thursday
- Los Angeles, California: 6 p.m.
- Mexico City: 8 p.m.
- Miami, Florida: 9 p.m.
- Montreal, Canada: 9 p.m.
- New Orleans: 8 p.m.
- Paris: 3 a.m. Thursday
- Philadelphia: 9 p.m.
- Vancouver: 6 p.m.
You can see more times on TimeAndDate here.
How to Watch on TV
This could be one of Biden’s largest-viewed speeches. State of the Union speeches and joint speeches to Congress typically draw a large audience. In February 2010, for example, Barack Obama’s State of the Union was seen by 48 million viewers, Time reported. Trump’s address to Congress in February 2017 drew about the same numbers: 47.74 million viewers across 11 networks, according to Variety. His 2018 SOTU had about 45.6 million viewers. Biden’s will likely draw similarly large numbers.
TV CHANNEL: Biden’s address will be airing on most major TV networks, including ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, PBS, CSPAN, CNN, and more. You can visit TV Guide’s Listings to see the specific channel in your region, or view the options below for specific networks.
Most networks will cover both Biden’s speech and the Republicans’ response, delivered by Sen. Tim Scott after Biden’s speech concludes.
ABC – Click here to access the ABC channel finder and locate your local station. ABC coverage begins at 9 p.m. Eastern.
NBC – Click here to access the NBC channel finder and location your local station.
CBS – Click here to access the CBS channel finder and location your local station.
Fox – Click here to access the Fox channel finder and location your local station. Your local Fox channel is expected to air Biden’s speech. According to TV Guide’s listings, Fox News is currently airing Hannity and The Ingraham Angle during Biden’s speech.
CNN – 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 for you.
C-SPAN – 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 C-SPAN is on for you.
PBS – 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 PBS is on for you.
You can also watch Biden’s speech in the video below.
Or watch via C-SPAN’s video below.
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