NEW YORK - ABC News will broadcast five hours of live primary coverage on Super Tuesday as voters in nearly half the country go to the polls next week.
The coverage starts at 8 p.m. EST and runs until 1 a.m., with affiliates given the chance to break for local news at 11 p.m. Charles Gibson, Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos will anchor, ABC said Wednesday.
CBS is devoting two hours of prime-time to the election, with separate live versions for the East and West Coasts. NBC hasn't announced its plans yet. The cable news networks plan wall-to-wall coverage.
Intense interest in the campaign for president has led the networks to ramp up their plans. Originally they had intended to offer only one hour in prime-time to sum up the race.
Democrats are voting in 22 states on Tuesday, Republicans in 21. New York, California, Illinois and New Jersey are among the biggest states holding primaries.
