YouTube to live-stream U.S. presidential debates for first time

USPA News - U.S. President Barack Obama will face Republican rival Mitt Romney during three presidential debates this month, and all will be streamed live on the video-sharing website YouTube, the company announced on Monday. The vice presidential debate will also stream live on the website.

YouTube said the four debates will be streamed live on the YouTube Elections Hub (http://tinyurl.com/94h8db7) and will also be available for people living outside the United States. "No matter where you are in the world or how you`ll be accessing the internet, you`ll be able to watch the most important events of the 2012 election on YouTube," the company said in a blog post on Monday. While some of the previous presidential debates have been broadcast online by American networks, it is the first time that all the election debates will be available on a single platform. The debates will be streamed to YouTube by ABC News, which is moderating the vice presidential debate, and the full debates will remain available for viewing on the website after they aired. In addition, the Spanish-language television network Univision will also offer a version of the debates which is translated into Spanish in real-time. YouTube partners such as Al Jazeera English, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, will offer commentary and analysis after the debates. The first presidential debate, which will be moderated by PBS NewsHour Executive Editor Jim Lehrer, is scheduled to take place on Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET at the University of Denver in Denver, Colorado. It will be followed by the only vice presidential debate on October 11 at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. The second presidential debate, in the form of a town hall meeting, allowing citizens to directly ask questions of the candidates on foreign and domestic issues, will take place at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York on October 16. It will be followed by the third and final presidential debate on October 22 at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida. The U.S. presidential election is scheduled to be held on November 6.