An ambitious effort to develop and deploy AR/VR technologies at CBS’ owned stations will be taking center stage on Nov. 5 in five markets, when CBS Stations will debut what the division is calling “unprecedented augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) presidential election coverage” on Nov. 5 from CBS’s New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Bay Area and Colorado studios.
As previously reported by TV Tech, the technologies were first developed by tech teams at the CBS Bay Area stations and then deployed to four other markets as part of an effort to reinvent local newscasts and provide viewers with a more immersive experience.
The AR/VR election coverage will be led by Jessica Moore and Dick Brennan in New York; Ukee Washington, Natasha Brown, and Don Bell in Philadelphia from the virtual steps of the United States Capitol building; Chris Tye in Chicago, Juliette Goodrich, Sara Donchey, Ryan Yamamoto, and Devin Fehely. in the Bay Area, Michael Spencer and Karen Leigh, in Colorado.
On Election Night, the stations said that viewers will be able to watch results across a national and local VR map that will be driven by CBS anchors in their respective markets. More specifically here are the plans for the five markets where the technology has been deployed:
- CBS New York, the only Station in the tri-state region with AR/VR technology, will bring the biggest races in the area to life in its virtual reality studio on Election Night beginning at 5:00 p.m. ET., with a two-hour America Decides special at 9:00 p.m. ET that will stream exclusively on CBS News New York when the polls closes. They will broadcast LIVE the most significant local and national races, showing the local races that control the balance of power, including who will determine power in the House and a critical New Jersey seat. Viewers will have an immersive experience locally and be transported to battleground states using an interactive multidimensional map, breaking down the results and the race to the White House. Viewers can watch the AR/VR studio results on WCBS and the CBS News New York streaming channel.
- CBS Chicago, the only Station with an AR/VR studio in the region, will cover the LIVE national races, presidential race, and the local balance of power elections, bringing viewers up-to-the-minute interactive results beginning at 7:00 p.m. CT From the first Chicago school board elections to the state attorney’s race, with analysis from former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the CBS News Chicago Election Team. Viewers can watch the AR/VR studio results on WBBM-TV and the CBS News Chicago streaming channel. Streaming coverage begins at 7 p.m. on CBS News Chicago.
- CBS Philadelphia, the only Station in Pennsylvania with AR/VR technology, will provide viewers with an immersive election night experience out of its studio, with LIVE virtual segments in every Election Day show from 9:00 a.m. ET through the Nov. 6th 9:00 a.m. ET show. Viewers will experience immersive battleground election results in a visually stunning, informative space with an interactive floor map that will bring each battleground state front and center as a multidimensional storytelling tool: breaking down the vote county by county in critical Philadelphia voting areas. Another key immersive experience is that Philadelphians will be transported to the White House front lawn with up-to-the-minute precision – so close viewers will see the grass blowing in the wind. Viewers can also stream election results on CBS News Philadelphia, which will stream results exclusively the moment polls close on Election Night. Viewers can watch the AR/VR studio results on KYW-TV and the CBS News Philadelphia streaming channel.
- CBS Bay Area is the innovation studio that developed the proprietary AR/VR codes for CBS Stations. The Station will have LIVE team coverage of all the biggest local races and national election coverage from 3:00 p.m. PT to midnight. The Station will collaborate with CBS Los Angeles and CBS Sacramento to extend LIVE statewide election coverage. In addition, the team will broadcast complete wall-to-wall coverage of local election results on KPIX+ channel 44 cable 12 and CBS News Bay Area streaming channel from 5:00 p.m. until midnight.
- CBS Colorado, the only Station with an AR/VR studio in the region, will use VR technology to report election results on the most important issues facing Colorado voters. Viewers will experience live results with animated graphics to illustrate county-by-county and district-by-district data, helping the viewers better understand which candidates are leading and why. Viewers can watch the AR/VR studio results on KCNC-TV and the CBS News Colorado streaming channel.
Additionally, CBS Stations will cover the election live across its 14 owned markets, including key battleground states Michigan and Pennsylvania. Viewers can watch and stream all the election coverage LIVE here. For CBS News and Stations comprehensive “America Decides: Election ‘24” Team Coverage Across Broadcasts, Streaming and Digital” click here.
