Streaming Election Night Broadcast TV?

kakapo writes "A couple of years ago, we dumped our cable TV, and don't have much luck getting old-fashioned broadcast where we live. That's fine — we can download or netflix almost anything we want to see, and it is great not to pay the Comcast tax every month. Problem is, now I want to watch the election live, complete with talking heads, pundits, glitzy graphics and all the rest, rather than reading about it on a website. So, is there any way to download network TV / CNN / MSNBC in real time — I don't mind paying. And yes, we could visit friends, but ideally our kids would watch the first part and then go to bed — and a sitter would be expensive if we have to wait until late for the result."

Comments

Yes

[Thelasko]

Go here and click on "live video."

Re:Yes

[Anonymous Coward]

I'll spoil the election for you: McCain wins.

Re:Yes

[Anonymous Coward]

Dave Byrd, is that you?

Re:Yes

[robinsonne]

I'll spoil the election for you: McCain wins.

... and America loses ...

I think we lose regardless of whichever of the two wins. (It would take a miracle for any of the 3rd party ones to win.)

Re:Yes

[mongoose(!no)]

No, only winning move is not to play....

I was really excited to vote in this election (as I missed bing born early enough for the the last one by a few weeks), but both the canidates seem like incompetent panderers. I cast my vote hoping that my canidate will return to how he was before the primaries, and not pander to his party so much.

Re:Yes

[knorthern knight]

The magic incantation is...

mplayer -playlist http://www.cnn.com/video/live/cnnlive_1.asx

*WITHOUT* the "[cnn.com]" in brackets at the end (damn you Slashdot). I'm running it on linux, and watching CNN right now.

Re:Yes

[Eskarel]

They both supported the bailout because the bailout had to happen. It should have had teeth the way the UK one did(everyone at the top of every bank the UK government socialized got fired) and it probably should have had a better plan than "we'll buy lot of your stock, but we're the government so we can't own a private corporation and so we despite owning the vast majority of your company we won't have voting rights", but the banks themselves needed to be bailed out even if the individuals didn't.

They don't both support the war(at least not identically, yes both support afghanistan, but Obama wants out of Iraq).

Redistribution of wealth depends an awful lot on how they do it. McCain will continue the usual republican model where they "create wealth" so that rich people can be richer making everyone else comparatively poorer. I'm not entirely sure what Obama will do in the end, a hand out to everyone doesn't work, but providing people with health care, protections at work, free education, and general assistance to ensure that rather than working hard to make someone else rich some of their hard work is rewarded by making them a little bit wealthier is a redistribution of wealth I can get behind.

The current system of wealth distribution is flawed. The folks who do the work get barely enough to get by, the folks who run the companies(even if they didn't build them and don't contribute to them) get paid bucketloads, and the scum sucking stock trading weasels make even more playing the market game at the expense of everyone else(including the companies that the stock market is supposed to provide investment captal for).

Hulu.com?

[sohmc]

Hulu had streaming live feeds of the debates. I'd think they'd have some sort of streaming feed come election day. Also, I know CNN has streaming feeds of some of their programs.

Check the Cable feed

[Anonymous Coward]

Have you tried plugging a TV into the cable feed? A lot of times, the cable company won't bother implementing a cancellation, figuring that reclaiming the box is good enough and saving the cost of a truck roll. It's possible that you'll still have analog basic cable on that "disconnected" cable line. Alternately, you could sign up for one month of limited Analog Cable for $15.

Re:Check the Cable feed

[corbettw]

No no no, when you let someone smoke your weed, you're smoking them out. "Smoking up" just means you gave them a smoke cured ham. But don't worry, lots of people get confused on those two (especially with the memory loss that comes from all that ham).

Really?

[psychicninja]

Google found this first thing: http://www.dvguru.com/2006/11/06/election-day-coverage-streaming-overload/ and that was just a quick search. Does this really need to be a front-page discussion?

Re:Really?

[bedroll]

Yes. You may immediately think "Google" and be able to type in the appropriate search, but not everyone is so astute. That's why we have /., and putting it on the front page does better to ensure that everyone who might think to ask will see it. There's also something to be said for the potential for variety of information you'll get here versus Google. Maybe not so much for the quality...

Anything for non americans?

[Splab]

This election is pretty much sealing the fate of the western world as we know it; we are quite a lot of people very very interested in the results.

Re:Anything for non americans?

[LWATCDR]

No it isn't
Let me fill you in.
If McCain wins odds are that we will have a Democratic majority on congress.
The end result is that it should keep things somewhat in the center. Or very little will get done that doesn't have a universal support.
If Obama wins we will have a Democratic congress. Truth is that I would bet that it will also go more towards the center but if they start really messing up then in two years congress will shift back towards the Republicans and we will again have balance.
If Obama or McCain really mess up we fire them in four years and get a new president.
In the end it will not be the end of the world.
Geez I don't like Obama's energy policy since it is not as pro nuclear as I would like. I am not all that fond of McCain's tax plan. Or Obama's "Guess what folks. You can not give a tax cut to someone that already pays zero or gets more back than they pay in. That is called charity."
Truth is I doubt it matter much one way or the other. I don't think their is a great man running for president this year but I also don't think their is a monster running.
Chill out and relax.

Re:Anything for non americans?

[Anonymous Coward]

If Obama or McCain really mess up we fire them in four years and get a new president.

Like we did with George W Bush?

Re:Anything for non americans?

[LWATCDR]

Not really.
The president can only do what Congress allows. That is what I find so funny about people freaking out over the president.
There are checks and balances in the system one person can not mess it up that bad in just four years.

Re:Anything for non americans?

[MaxEmerika]

This analysis reminds me of discussions taking place around 2000, when the prevailing wisdom was that it would not make one bit of difference who got elected. We were wrong then, and you are wrong now.

Re:Anything for non americans?

[fiannaFailMan]

I'd agree with most of what you say were it not for Sarah Palin. That woman puts the fear of God in me, and I'm an atheist! Can you imagine someone in the President's seat who doesn't even know what the Bush Doctrine is without having to phone a friend? We had a retard in the oval office for 8 years and it has been an unmitigated disaster. Lord help us if the American voters once again show disdain for educated people as 'elitists.'

Re:Anything for non americans?

[LWATCDR]

Yes I have. And yes most Americans have faith in checks and balances.
The invasion of Iraq passed with huge support from both Democrats and Republicans.
Also with a lot of support of other countries at the time.
The Economy? Not just Bush's fault. Take a look at all the other countries that have had the same thing happen to them at this time. We have been going from bubble to bubble since Clinton. No one was willing to deflate the bubble but bubbles don't last for ever.

If you think one person has that much power for good or evil you are just clueless.
Bush is just easy to blame since he is the president. The number of people involved is huge and isn't even limited to a single country.

Listen instead

[duffbeer703]

Any decent AM radio station will have full-time election coverage, and radio news is generally 1000% better than the swill that you see on TV.

Re:Listen instead

[Crazy Man on Fire]

AM or your local FM NPR station if you can pull it in. I've found NPR's live election coverage to be quite good.

Re:Listen instead

[pilgrim23]

I totally agree and plan on finding out what Americans do on Election Day via shortwave radio from BBC or Radio Sierra-Leon or some other non partisan source on my antique Halicrafters. I am by the way IN the US and a US citizen. Ever consider some other country could run a propaganda station? they might call it..oh I don't know... " Voice of America"...or something....

Re:Listen instead

[jemtallon]

Agreed. I have the same problem browsing slashdot in lynx. I always get halfway through a comment and fall asl

Slingbox

[Thelasko]

If you have a friend with a slingbox you could use that.

Why watch at home?

[cashman73]

While CNN, MSNBC, and Faux News, are all likely to have live streaming feeds of election results, it might be more worthwhile to head to your local sports bar. They'll very likely have the election results on, and they have a reasonable supply of alcohol as well, which will come in handy no matter who wins (if your candidate of choice wins, you celebrate; if the other guy wins, you drown away your sorrows),... ;-)

Re:Why watch at home?

[MazzThePianoman]

I guess you forgot the part where the poster said he had kids and did not want to get a sitter? Then again alcohol could quiet the kids well enough as well.

C-SPAN streams live

[NevDull]

For the things you want to watch which are covered on C-SPAN, you can see C-SPAN 1, 2, and 3, and C-SPAN Radio here.

Screw that...

[R2.0]

I think I'm going to take a sleeping pill right after work and try to sleep through the whole thing. There's no point in watching it "unfold" - the next day my guy will either be President Elect or not, and my watching breathless talking heads constantly reanalyzing the same data isn't going to change it one way or another.

Re:Same thing with the World Series

[TubeSteak]

I am wondering the same thing about tonight's World Series game on Fox. Anyone answer that question?

Baseball/Football/Basketball jealously guard their broadcast rights.
The only way to stream those things live is off the official website or through a premium membership (aol/msn/real networks/i'm not sure who anymore) after paying for it.

CNN is a lot easier. It's on their website for free.

Re:Same thing with the World Series

[TheLostSamurai]

I think I found a helpful link for you here.

Comcast Tax?

[geekoid]

I mean seriously. If you were to go to McDonalds and buy a Big Mac would you be paying an Big Mac tax?

It's a price.

Re:Comcast Tax?

[AKAImBatman]

If you were to go to McDonalds and buy a Big Mac would you be paying an Big Mac tax?

If I went to McDonald's and the only way to get a Big Mac was with Fries, a Coke, and a Sundae (with wonderful "extra" options like salad, milk, and coffee available only if I purchase a "base" value meal), you sure as hell can bet I'd see it as a "tax".

Of course, the solution is to not go to McDonald's. Right up until I realize that McDonald's has been granted a monopoly in my area. Going to Burger King requires that I MOVE 30 miles away because they can only serve local residents. Worse yet, nice restaurants have all been driven out of business by a government-sponsored monopoly. So my options are currently go to McDonald's and pay the McTax, or don't go out to eat.

THAT is how Comcast is a tax.

this is some sort of archetype

[circletimessquare]

the "i don't own a tv and i have to tell everyone about it" guy

in answer to your question: who cares? why do you feel the need to tell everyone you don't own a tv? that's the real subtext of your question

and if you think that's a smarmy answer, well then i have a real answer for you: GO BUY A TV. GET CABLE OR SATELLITE. END OF STORY. your brain will not melt, you will not be contributing to the downfall of western civilization. really. or, go ahead and listen to the various unnecessary technical gymanstics you must perform offered in this thead. instead of simply going and getting yourself a simple, harmless television

the onion was prescient: Area Man Constantly Mentioning He Doesn't Own A Television

this is some sort of genuine subculture. and if not owning a television turns one into a vainglorious buffoon, then please, everyone should own a television, for the sake of a healthy sense of humility. sheesh

FOX

[inzy]

i believe Fox has the best coverage - i hear it's pretty balanced, and covers all the policy issues; I'm sure they'll have a stream with not too many adverts

C-SPAN

[Rayge]

You could watch the live stream from http://www.cspan.org/

Re:Sigh. Only 6 more days of this BS

[MightyYar]

I couldn't even pretend to know something Gordon Brown has ever said

I could take a stab at it... "C'mon, bloody hell! When will Blair retire?"