How to watch the federal election: Sky, ABC, Nine Seven’s coverage
TV networks are wheeling out their biggest names to cover the election results this weekend. Here’s who’ll be on your screens.
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The best part of an election is that it eventually comes to an end, always with an extravaganza of media coverage across the country’s biggest networks.
This election will be no different, with each broadcaster wheeling out its biggest names and best political minds for the weekend of rolling coverage.
To save you having to flick through channels, here’s a full wrap of the who’s-who of the broadcast marathon that kicks off bright and early Saturday morning.
Sky News
Sky News kicks off its all-day Australia Decides election coverage at 6am with Jaynie Seal and Tim Gilbert for Election Breakfast.
Peter Stefanovic will take over from 9am, and will be joined by Annelise Nielsen. At 2pm Ashley Gillon will begin extended news coverage, crossing to reports at key battlegrounds across the country.
From 5pm, Sky News chief anchor Kieran Gilbert will lead Australia Decides: Election Night Live.
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He will be joined by Sky News top political commentators Peta Credlin, Andrew Clennell, and Graham Richardson, as well as the Nationals’ member Bridget McKenzie, Liberal Senator James McGrath, and Labor MPs Joel Fitzgibbon and Murray Watt.
Sky News hosts Paul Murray and Laura Jayes will be live at Liberal HQ throughout the night, and Chris Kenny will be live from Labor HQ. Meanwhile, from the studio, Sky News’ chief election analyst Tom Connell will call the seats as they fall.
The coverage will also feature a live and exclusive interview by Peter Gleeson with the United Australia Party founder Clive Palmer.
Sky’s coverage will also be available to stream on news.com.au.
ABC
The national broadcaster will be covering the election on TV and radio.
ABC reporters will be on the ground from 7am (AEST) for Weekend Breakfast – hosted by Johanna Nicholson and Jeremy Fernandez – and for extended news bulletins until 5pm.
Then from 6pm, when the results start rolling in, the ABC’s big guns will come out to play
Leigh Sales, Antony Green, and David Speers will spearhead the coverage, and will be joined by Annabel Crabb, Andrew Probyn, Laura Tingle.
Labor’s Tanya Plibersek and Liberal Senator Simon Birmingham will also feature on the expert panel.
Meanwhile, Greg Jennett and Patricia Karvelas will be in the Liberal and Labor function rooms monitoring the mood and cross for the live victory and concession speeches.
Then, on Sunday’s Weekend Breakfast program (starting at 6am) David Speers will be joined by David Crowe, Katharine Murphy, and news.com.au’s Samantha Maidento reflect and analyse the previous day’s results.
Channel 9
Sydney newsreader Peter Overton and Melbourne’s Alicia Loxley are taking the helm of Nine’s election coverage.
The duo were picked over Karl Stefanovic and Today Show co-host Allison Langdon – who were reportedly snubbed from the coveted anchor roles.
Nine’s coverage begins from 7pm on May 21, with what the network is touting as an “unrivalled panel” featuring political editor Chris Uhlmann, former Liberal foreign minister Julie Bishop, former Labor leader Bill Shorten, and Senators Jane Hume (Liberal) and Matt Canavan (Nationals).
Reporters Sarah Abo and Chris O’Keefe will be stationed at the Liberal and Labor functions.
Channel Nine’s coverage, though, begins at 7am with Weekend Today, with reporters stationed at polling booths nationwide to deliver breaking news and interviews throughout the day.
Channel 7
Political editor Mark Riley will join Sunrise co-host Natalie Barr and news anchor Michael Usher in Seven’s coverage of election night, starting at 5pm.
The network is set to unveil a “screen of dreams” – the same device made famous by CNN’s John King during the 2020 US Presidential election – promising to “fast-track winners and decide our next government”.
A stack of political figures will join the coverage, including Labor campaign spokesman Jason Clare, and Labor MP’s Katy Gallagher and Chris Bowen; while former Liberal defence minister Christpher Pyne, incumbent Attorney General Michaelia Cash, and deputy Nationals leader David Littleproud will represent the Coalition.
Chris Reason and Angela Cox will report from Coalition and Labor headquarters on the night.
All-day coverage of election day begins with an extended edition of Weekend Sunrise from 7am, and a special one-hour national news bulletin from 4pm.
Network 10
Sandra Sully will be leading Ten's coverage of the election, starting at 6pm.
The coverage will feature analysis by and conversations with political journalists Peter van Onselen, Waleed Aly, Hugh Rimington, Narelda Jacobs, and Jan Fran.
Politicians from both major parties will also join the coverage, including the Liberal party’s Anne Ruston and Hollie Hughes, and Labor’s Ed Husic and Stephen Jones.
Former Liberal staffer Rachelle Miller will also bring her insight to the coverage.
news.com.au (of course)
If you won’t be near a TV, or it’s all too much, dip into news.com.au over the weekend. We’ll be here to keep you up-to-date with every result as the votes are counted.
Hopefully by the end of the weekend we can take a break from politics (please, we all need a holiday).
Originally published as How to watch the federal election: Sky, ABC, Nine Seven’s coverage
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