Your essential guide to following election night with your eyes and ears, on TV, radio and online, plus where to watch and listen to Sunday’s bumper crop of post-election analysis. Don’t forget to keep your second screen tuned to The Spinoff, where we’ll have rolling coverage kicking off as soon as polls close on Saturday.
All programmes begin at 7pm Saturday unless otherwise indicated.
Election night
TVNZ
This year’s coverage – or the 1 News Your Vote 2020 Election Night Special, to give it its lengthy official title – will be fronted by former TV3 colleagues Hilary Barry and John Campbell, with Simon Dallow at the newsdesk. Expect rolling coverage, state of the art graphics and expert analysis. TVNZ’s election night team looks a bit different than it did in 2017. Then Barry was paired with Mike Hosking, who’s now at NZME and co-hosting its election night coverage (see below).
Three
Newshub political editor Tova O’Brien will be joined by Patrick Gower and Duncan Garner, with reporters stationed across the country and at the election night parties. Viewers can expect up-to-the-second breaking news and plenty of smart analysis. Back in August when the campaign was just kicking off, this is how O’Brien previewed the election: “If 2020 is anything to go by, this is going to be the most unpredictable, exciting, high-stakes, important, volatile, whiplash-inducing election campaign in a generation.” Time’s running out for her not remotely hyperbolic prediction to come to pass, so a lot is riding on Saturday night.
Māori Television
Māori Television’s Whakatau election night coverage is hosted by David Jones and Rukuwai Tipene-Allen, with on-the-ground reporters providing live updates from the seven Māori electorates. Studio panelists include Georgina Beyer, Chris Wikaira, Lara Greaves, Will Workman, Eruera Morgan and Claudette Hauiti.
RNZ
Broadcast on radio, TV and online, RNZ’s election night special will be anchored by Lisa Owen and Corin Dann with contributions from political editor Jane Patterson. Reporters will be stationed at party HQs, while analysis will come from a commentary panel hosted by Guyon Espiner and featuring Tau Henare, Julia Whaipooti, Peter Dunne, Amy Adams, Sue Bradford, Bryce Edwards, David Cormack, among others.
NZME
Mike Hosking and Heather du Plessis-Allan will anchor NZME’s broadcast coverage, comprising a livestream video show and radio broadcast that will run on the NZ Herald website, Newstalk ZB and iHeartRadio.
Here’s what NZME has planned: “A special election night hub has been set up in the heart of the NZ Herald and Newstalk ZB newsroom. From here, Heather and a team of commentators including Fran O’Sullivan, Liam Dann, Simon Wilson and Claire Trevett will analyse ballot box trends throughout the night. In the ZB studio, Mike and ZB political editor Barry Soper will team up for latest interviews and breaking news angles.”
The day after
The Spinoff
From 8am
We’ll have rolling coverage and analysis from breakfast time plus, later in the the day, an election results special from politics podcast Gone by Lunchtime. Subscribe now – on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or your podcast platform of choice – to get it into your earholes as soon as it drops.
TVNZ
From 8am
On the Sunday morning after the election, Q+A will be on TVNZ 1 at 8am with a two-hour special hosted by Jack Tame. At 10am, Marae will focus on what the election results mean for Māori.
Three
From 9am
Three’s post-election coverage begins with The Hui at 9am. Then, from 10am, Newshub Nation presents a 90-minute special, hosted by Simon Shepherd and Tova O’Brien.
RNZ
From 8am
Morning Report’s Sunday morning post-election special is hosted from Wellington and Auckland by Susie Ferguson, Guyon Espiner and deputy political editor Craig McCulloch, with analysis from a team of experts including The Spinoff’s own Danyl Mclauchlan.
Māori Television
From 7pm
A one-hour live show hosted by Neil Waka with panel discussion of the results and a focus on what they mean for Māori.