Election Night: ABC

There is now even more detail on the Election Night coverage being provided by the ABC.

The ABC’s Election Analyst Antony Green says that on the night Australians should know the result earlier than previous elections.

“August 21 will see the 43rd election for the House of Representatives, but only the third to be held in winter. The only other winter elections were held in 1943 and 1987,” said Antony Green.

“This will change how the results are reported as no states will be on summer time. For the first time in more than two decades, the eastern states will all be on the same time zone. At past elections we’ve had Tasmanian results being reported from 5pm, and at summer elections Queensland results don’t arrive until after 7pm.

“In 2010, counting will begin in 122 of the 150 electorates at 6pm, which means if the result is clear, we will know it early.”

TELEVISION COVERAGE
On election night, ABC1 and ABC News 24 will broadcast Australia Votes 2010, from 6pm (AEST) on Saturday 21 August. This election special will also be streamed live online at abc.net.au/news as well as on the ABC iPad and iPhone mobile apps.

From Canberra’s national tally room, Kerry O’Brien leads ABC TV’s live and continuous coverage of the 2010 Federal Election.

Joined by Lateline’s Tony Jones and Leigh Sales and with expert analysis and commentary from the ABC’s Election Analyst Antony Green, the ABC will continue to deliver the most comprehensive election night coverage, with precise results and a thorough assessment of the developments as they happen.

Australia Votes 2010 will provide viewers with up-to-the-minute results with the ABC’s advanced computer system and graphics, giving viewers the best idea of how the votes are coming in and where the results are going.

There will be analysis and lively debate right throughout the evening, with guest panellists Liberal Senator Nick Minchin and Labor Minister for Foreign Affairs, Trade and Deputy Leader of the House, Stephen Smith joining Kerry O’Brien on the main election panel desk.

ABC News 24’s Political Editor Chris Uhlmann and ABC TV News’s Chief Political Correspondent Mark Simkin will also feature in the coverage and there will be crosses to candidates in key marginal seats right around the country.

2010 also sees an ABC election coverage first, with Australia Votes 2010 broadcasting live on the big screen at Federation Square in Melbourne.

On the following day Insiders with Barrie Cassidy at 9am on ABC1 and ABC News 24 will have a full round-up of the election results, providing the best political commentary and analysis on how the numbers fell.

ABC News 24 will have rolling news coverage throughout Sunday morning as well as special editions of The Drum in the afternoon, along with full news bulletins every hour.

(Australia Votes 2010 will be on ABC1 and ABC News 24 at 4pm in Western Australia, 5.30pm in the Northern Territory and South Australia and 6pm in the eastern states.)

Australia’s international television service Australia Network will be broadcasting the ABC’s election night coverage to more than 44 countries across Asia, the Pacific and Indian subcontinent. The broadcast will start at 16:00 Hong Kong time.

ONLINE COVERAGE
ABC TV and radio election coverage will be streamed live online at abc.net.au/news and ABC Local Radio coverage on all ABC Local Radio websites. The live TV stream will also be available on the ABC iPad and iPhone mobile apps.

Exclusively for the Federal Election the online streaming of election night coverage will be available to Australians living overseas. The geo-block will be removed for this special election coverage allowing those abroad to follow developments as they happen.

At the ABC’s Elections website abc.net.au/elections live data feeds will be updating the map’s electorates as the numbers come in, providing a visual overview of the state of the parties and identifying the changing seats as they happen and what the prediction is showing.

On Twitter, ABC News followers will be able to keep up-to-date with the latest numbers from the ABC’s election computer system being redeveloped to include automatic Twitter feeds of results as soon as they are available from the electoral commission.

For the most comprehensive online election coverage and ultimate election resource, go to abc.net.au/elections where you will find Antony Green’s expert views on Australia’s 150 electorates, the ABC’s ‘Election Calculators’ which can determine how the election could unfold. The site also features up-to-the-minute election news, analysis and opinion, and pulls in all the best federal election content from across the ABC’s extensive television, radio and online networks.

MOBILE COVERAGE
If you are on the move, the ABC will keep audiences up-to-date with results as they unfold, with the new, free ABC Australia Votes 2010 election mobile apps. The ABC has produced a range of apps for different types of handsets, so audiences can follow the election results in real time, no matter where they are or which device they are on.

The ABC Australia Votes 2010 apps enable audiences to:
– get live information on any electorate as the count takes place
– watch the national result unfold
– get news stories and analysis from the ABC and
– keep across the most insightful election tweets.

The purpose-built apps have been made for iPhone, Android and Java, making the content available for many 3G-enabled handsets.

The iPhone election app will also feature live streaming of the new ABC News 24 channel and News in 90 Second video bulletins.

Full details on all of the ABC’s elections apps – and the ABC’s full range of apps and mobile sites – are available at abc.net.au/mobile.