These Channels Will be Airing the First Debate

You can only imagine what kind of excitement the Lincoln-Douglas debates generated back in 1858, but if one thing is for certain, it's that it wasn't broadcast in quite the same way this historic debate will be shown. And for those planning on watching the debate live, there are a number of channels that the first presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will be aired.

The debate, which will take place on Sept. 26 at Hofstra University, will be hosted by NBC and moderated by NBC's Nightly News anchor Lester Holt (the NBC program just received its 20th consecutive win in viewership). But it will also be broadcast live by a number of television stations, including NBC, C-SPAN, ABC, CBS, FOX, CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC. It will also be streamed live on a number of websites as well.

As tickets to the actual debate are hard to come by, even for Hofstra University students who have to enter a lottery, the best way to catch the debate for most will be via your television set or computer. The first debate will take place at 9 p.m. ET and run for 90 minutes without any commercials, and should prove to be an exciting showcase for the two presidential contenders.

The topics for the debate, which were announced on Sept. 19 by the Commission on Presidential Debates, will feature topics about "America's Direction," "Achieving Prosperity," and "Securing America."

The debate will be broken up into six segments, with each topic taking approximately 15 minutes. Each candidate will have two minutes to respond and then have an opportunity to respond to each other. The remaining time will be used for Holt to ask more in-depth questions.

As tensions between the two presidential candidates continue to mount, one can only wonder if Holt will be functioning more as a moderator or a referee. But, as Clinton's press secretary Brian Fallon insisted last week, Clinton will not be attempting to "provoke" Trump during the first presidential debate and some expect him to show a more "presidential," less volatile side. But as always with the candidate, it's unpredictable.

The Democratic nominee now has 50 percent support among likely voters as compared to Trump's 45 percent, according to a recent NBC News/SurveyMonkey Weekly Election Tracking Poll. With the debate just a few days away, the event is likely the most anticipated televised program of the month, as the nation gets ready for the first of several presidential debates.