Volunteer Culture
How to Watch the RNC
Wherever you are on the political spectrum, you can’t deny that this year is a historical year for politics in our nation. Two of the most disliked candidates in history are running for President. Emotions are high. Our country is at stake. Please let me encourage you as Church Media Directors and staff leaders – be informed! Have knowledge of what’s going on in your nation and how it affects the people you serve each week.
I just came back from vacation and our family stayed in Greendale, IN (a few miles from Cincinnati, OH) for a few days to visit the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter. We were surprised to find the hotels we had reservations for were completely booked. Though many were headed to the Ark Encounter which just opened, hundreds of people were on there way to Cleveland, OH, for the Republican National Convention.
The convention runs through Thursday, with most of the events occurring in the evening. The RNC is sure to make for interesting viewing, so here are all the different ways you can stream the convention online.
YouTube
YouTube is the official live stream partner for the RNC, with a stream set up by the convention itself.
You can view the YouTube Live Stream here or watch below.
You can view the live Twitter Stream here.
Twitter partnered with CBS for a live stream.
Twitter’s live stream is interspersed with normal CBS broadcast material, so dull moments at the convention are filled with news fodder instead of dead air.
Users can use the hashtag #RNCinCLE for conversation.
You can watch the Facebook Live Stream here.
Like Twitter, Facebook partnered with a major news network to provide live coverage of the RNC.
Facebook’s live stream is the result of a partnership with ABC News. ABC is hosting the stream on its own Facebook page, where it boasts more than 8 million followers. In exchange, Facebook is providing the network with real-time viewer data to be used in the broadcast. ABC will also take questions and comments from viewers via Facebook Live. Facebook’s partnership with ABC means that its live stream will be interspersed with news coverage, so viewers won’t ever be left without something to watch.
Although ABC is Facebook’s official partner for live streaming, several other news organizations are hosting live streams on the platform as well: C-SPAN and Fusion both have plans for live coverage on Facebook.
Twitch
You can watch the Twitch Live Stream here.
The Twitch live stream is not running 24/7. Here’s the schedule:
7/19–21: 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. EDT
The streaming platform popularized by gamers is trying its hand at streaming a political event. They are streaming the event as a public service. The company emphasized that it would bring the political process into the homes of individuals who might not otherwise tune into the convention, and pointed out that it would make the broadcast available to viewers outside the U.S.
Twitch is offering several cool ways for viewers to interact with the live stream — users can host the RNC stream on their own channel and provide commentary, or react with a special set of emotes.
Twitch says Day 1 of the live stream has averaged between 2,000 and 5,000 users.
RNC App
Download the App here.
The official RNC app, RNC 2016, uses Google to offer an “immersive experience” of 360-degree convention video. RNC 2016 is available for iOS and Android, and it comes with maps and several other useful features for those attending the convention. The YouTube live stream will be hosted within the RNC 2016 app, along with the 360 video and other features.
TV Broadcasts and News Networks
If you’re going old school and want to watch it on television, a number of news networks and TV platforms will have streaming coverage. Google Chromecast, Apple TV, and Roku users can access
live streams from your device using apps like CNNGo and ABCLive.
FOX NEWS Primetime Lineup Schedule
CBS All Access Streaming Options
CARL BARNHILL
Creative Director / Owner
[twelve:thirty]media | Columbia, SC
twelvethirtymedia.com
Carl Barnhill has served on staff at some of the largest churches and organizations in the country. He served as Media Director at Precept Ministries International, directing the television and radio program Precepts for Life with Kay Arthur, broadcasted to over 98 million homes around the world. He served as Video Production Director at Pinelake Church in Brandon, MS, where he produced media content for four campuses, as well as led volunteer teams.
He most recently served as Video Coordinator for Newspring Church in South Carolina. Newspring has 10 campuses across the state with a weekly attendance of over 35,000. At one campus alone, the number of consistent volunteers serving in media production tripled, under his leadership.
He currently serves as Creative Director and Owner of [twelve:thirty]media, a company that serves churches and ministries all over the world through motion graphics content and church media coaching.
