COVID-19 alters DNC for participants, viewers; here's how to watch

The Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) on Friday, Aug. 7 announced over a dozen options for watching the 2020 convention, which will now be an almost entirely virtual event.

The DNCC hopes, despite changes brought on by COVID-19 concerns, that the convention will still reach viewers in multiple ways across the nation during its four-night run from Aug. 17 through Aug. 20. 

The official live stream for the 2020 DNC will be hosted on DemConvention.com, where viewers can also find the full convention schedule, a digital toolkit to get involved, more resources for viewers, delegates and the media and additional plans and details. 

“While our convention will certainly look different than previous years, what hasn’t changed is that this is an opportunity to engage and unite more Americans than ever before and to launch Joe Biden to victory this fall,” said Joe Solmonese, CEO of the Democratic National Convention.  “With so many different ways to watch and get involved this year, Democrats are ready to make the case for Joe Biden’s vision for a better, safer future for the country.”

In addition to the DemConvention.com livestream and traditional broadcasts, the DNCC is working with partners to house convention content on a range of platforms, ensuring that no matter what services and devices audiences are using, the full program is available live and on-demand. 

The full list of platforms is as follows:

Computer + Tablet + Mobile Device

TV Device Apps (search for “Democratic National Convention” or “2020 DNC”) 

  • Apple TV devices powered by Endavo
  • Roku TV and streaming players powered by Endavo
  • Amazon Fire TV streaming devices and smart TVs powered by Endavo

TV Providers 

  • AT&T U-verse (Channel 212/1212 in SD/HD)
  • DIRECTV (Channel 201)
  • Comcast Xfinity X1 (say “DNC” into your Xfinity Voice Remote)
  • Comcast Xfinity Flex (say “DNC” into your Xfinity Voice Remote)

Smart Speaker

  • Listen or watch on Alexa-enabled Devices (Just say "Alexa, play the Democratic National Convention") 

Citing COVID-19 concerns, speakers for the 2020 Democratic National Convention will no longer travel to Milwaukee. A custom virtual video control room has been designed at the Wisconsin Center, where the scaled-down convention was to be held, to take in hundreds of feeds from around the country, including the potential of interacting with Americans from around the country.