Katty Kay and Andrew Neil to present coverage of US election results

It will be a hard-fought contest right to the end, and I’m excited to bring global BBC audiences the story on election night and in the days after.

On US Election night - 3 November - BBC News will be reporting the race as it unfolds with live results and expert analysis from London and the US. Katty Kay and Andrew Neil will be leading the BBC US Election 2020 programme on BBC One, BBC News channel, BBC World News and BBC iPlayer from 11.30pm GMT/6.30pm ET.

Katty will be broadcasting from Washington, with Andrew providing interviews and analysis from London. Katty and Andrew have both played major roles in the BBC’s US election coverage in the past, co-hosting the results night coverage together in 2016.

Jon Sopel and Clive Myrie will be with the Trump and Biden campaigns on election night, with BBC reporters including Emily Maitlis and Nick Bryant in the crucial battleground states and a panel of expert political strategists assessing how the night unfolded, how the campaign was lost and the impact the US electorate’s decision will have on the years ahead.

BBC US Election 2020 will feature big-screen graphic analysis from Christian Fraser, and Tina Daheley will also be bringing audiences news bulletins throughout the night.

Katty Kay says: “The 2020 US election cycle has been endlessly surprising, which is fitting for a year that’s been anything but normal. It will be a hard-fought contest right to the end, and I’m excited to bring global BBC audiences the story on election night and in the days after. When trustworthy information is hard to come by, we at the BBC are committed to fairly and accurately reporting events, whatever happens.”

Andrew Neil says: “This has been a presidential campaign like no other in the long history of America's democracy. And not just because it’s being fought in the midst of a pandemic. In many ways it’s turned into a referendum on Donald Trump. Do you want to continue with four more years of the Trump rollercoaster? Or would you prefer a return to something approaching normal with mainstream Democrat Joe Biden? That’s the choice Americans must make on 3 November.”

BBC Head of Newsgathering, Jonathan Munro says: “The US Presidential election is one of the world’s most important political events, and always has a big impact on politics across the world. Our goal is to make sure that we provide our audiences with the complete picture over the next three weeks. On election night, Katty and Andrew will bring an incredible level of experience, knowledge and authority from both sides of the Atlantic."

Radio 4 and the BBC World Service will simulcast their election night programming hosted by Jamie Coomarasamy in Michigan, Nuala McGovern in northern California and Ros Atkins and Philippa Thomas anchoring from London. BBC Radio 5 Live’s Drive presenter, Anna Foster, will lead the station’s results night coverage and simulcast Radio 4 and BBC World Service in the early hours.

Audiences will be able to follow all the action on the BBC News website’s dedicated US Election live page for all the latest updates in the run up to the election, on results day itself and after. There will also be live maps tracking results for the presidential, Senate and House of Representatives races.

On Wednesday morning coverage will see Laura Trevelyan taking over in Washington, and Matthew Amroliwala and Reeta Chakrabarti in London from 9am GMT, running through to 1pm GMT on BBC One and continuing thereafter on the BBC News Channel, BBC World News and BBC iPlayer with Jane O’Brien in Washington and Lucy Hockings in London. Katty Kay and Christian Fraser will be providing further analysis at 8pm GMT.

In the run up to the election, other highlights across the BBC’s US coverage include live coverage of the final presidential debate on Friday 23 October on the BBC News Channel and BBC World News. Katty Kay and Christian Fraser will also be providing coverage of the campaign on the BBC News Channel and BBC World News Monday to Thursday at 9pm throughout the campaign.

There will also be special televised episodes of Americast with Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel on the BBC News channel and BBC World News, as well as on Radio 4 every Friday evening at 11pm GMT.

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Additional Highlights

Presidential Debate Coverage
The second presidential debate in Nashville, Tennessee will be live on the BBC News Channel and BBC World News with Katty Kay presenting in Washington. Friday 23 1.30am BST / Thursday 22 October 8.30pm ET.

Newsnight
Emily Maitlis will present Newsnight from Washington DC for the week, with a range of high profile guests and expert analysis on the major stories of the US election. BBC Two, 10.45pm GMT.

Reality Check and Disinformation
The BBC anti-disinformation team, made up of journalists from the BBC World Service’s BBC Trending and BBC Monitoring, and BBC News’ Reality Check will be following and regularly responding to election disinformation during the campaign period.

The team will also be pursuing stories looking at what role online foreign interference could play in the election and how QAnon conspiracy theories may affect voters - as seen in the latest special report by the BBC specialist disinformation reporter Marianna Spring.

The team will also be producing a roundup of major disinformation election themes ahead of 3 November, and BBC Reality Check will be live fact-checking all the presidential debates. Audiences can follow on bbc.co.uk and bbc.com.

The BBC also is part of the Trusted News Initiative, an industry collaboration of major news and global tech organisations working together to stop the spread of disinformation where it poses risk of real-world harm. In the weeks leading to polling day, partners will alert each other to disinformation which poses an immediate threat to life or to the integrity of the election so that content can be reviewed promptly by platforms, whilst publishers ensure they don’t unwittingly republish dangerous falsehoods.

BBC Radio 4

Today Programme
The BBC’s team of correspondents in the US will be visiting swing states for BBC Radio 4’s Today programme in the weeks running up to polling day. Former North America Editor Justin Webb will lead Today’s coverage on election day from London and as the first results come in on 4 November. The programme will be talking to key figures in US politics and getting analysis from top advisors and pundits.

World at One & PM
BBC’s World at One (WATO) will continue to hear from their American election family: Derek, David, Tammy and Toni are divided in their politics but, in their words, united by love; their differing reactions to events during the campaign helps bring alive this most unusual of elections.

Special correspondent James Naughtie will be sending WATO and PM his despatches from the field in his own Letters From America. Ben Wright will be sending a series of extended reports to both programmes. The World At One will broadcast an extended edition on Wednesday 4 November.

Race And The American Vote
Radio 4 explores how minority votes might be less predictable than many suppose and asks how those votes could affect the electoral maths. 30 October at 11am.

The Frost Tapes
In 1987 David Frost met Senator Joe Biden, who was seeking his party’s nomination for president. Their remarkable conversation was never broadcast because Biden later withdrew from the race. This section of that interview was selected for Radio 4 by David Frost’s son, Wilfred and will be heard in The Frost Tapes on 30 October at 11.30pm.

Trump: Backwards
On 31 October, Archive On 4 journeys through the President’s story in reverse. Trump: Backwards begins in the febrile present and scrolls back through the years to piece together a portrait of the 45th President of the USA.

BBC Radio 5 Live, Radio 1, Americast

BBC Radio 5 Live
In election week, Anna Foster will be anchoring 5 Live's coverage from a variety of locations in Pennsylvania. The state could be the most important in determining the eventual outcome, and Anna will be in a bird's-eye position to watch events unfold and to gauge reaction from people across the state. Throughout the week we'll be including the views and questions of listeners in the UK, and on election night itself, 5 Live will join forces with Radio 4 and the World Service for a special results programme.

BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat
Radio 1 Newsbeat will be speaking to first-time voters in New Orleans, as well as reporting on the campaign’s key issues.

Americast
Americast, the US political podcast with Jon Sopel, Emily Maitlis and Anthony Zurcher will be broadcast every Friday at 11pm GMT on BBC Radio 4 during the campaign.

Episodes will also be on the BBC News Channel and BBC World News throughout the campaign, with all episodes (including emergency podcasts at key points in the campaign) available every Friday on the BBC Sounds app, which is now available worldwide.

Americast will be on the BBC News Channel Fridays from 16 October at 9.30pm, Saturdays from 17 October at 2.30pm, and Sundays from 18 October at 12.30am.

It will be on BBC World News every Saturday at 4.30am and 10.30am BST from 17 October and every Sunday at 6.30pm BST from 18 October.

BBC World Service Group

The BBC World Service Group will exploring What the World wants from America in a day of coverage, including whether President Trump’s 'America First' strategy has changed the world, and what the result of the election will mean for America’s friends and foes.

BBC Monitoring will be reporting on the regional shifts and identifying the new powers to test whether a Trump presidency has allowed them to exercise more muscle and influence. Lyse Doucet will be in Kabul looking at the impact of the Trump presidency on security and livelihoods in Afghanistan and BBC correspondents across the world will be meeting the people on the receiving end of the changes to global politics under President Trump. Are they feeling poorer, less secure? Or are others filling the aid and trade gaps?

What the World wants from America - in 42 languages across the day on 20 October across the BBC World Service, BBC World News and bbc.com.

BBC World Service English

In the run up to the election, news and business programmes across the schedule will be keeping listeners up to speed with all the latest stories and analysis. In addition to the election night programming, the BBC World Service will also be making changes to the schedule on the Wednesday and again the following weekend to bring reaction, analysis and any developments. Other highlights in the run up include:

When Katty Met Carlos
BBC World Service’s new podcast and radio programme examines the issues at the heart of the election. Presented by the BBC’s Katty Kay from World News America, and journalist and OZY Media co-founder Carlos Watson, the series will discuss the themes reshaping America’s future, the deep under-currents deep below the daily electioneering that are changing America and the world. Together Katty and Carlos are inviting each other and their guests to think again about how much we understand America.

Podcast released weekly on Fridays and airs on the BBC World Service on Mondays at 9am.

The Weekend Documentary: The TikTok Election
TikTok began the year as an app for lip-syncers, dancers and comedians. It will not only end it as a campaign issue at the core of President Trump’s re-election bid; it may well forever change the face of digital political campaigning. It isn't just shaping the election narrative – the debate over its ownership and Chinese ties now means it’s actually part of it.

The BBC World Service’s Sophia Smith-Galer looks at the unfolding events surrounding TikTok and the role it is playing in the election.

Airs Sunday 18 October, 2pm on the BBC World Service. Also on the BBC World News channel Friday 23 October, 11.30pm BST, Saturday 24 October, 4.30am, 11.30pm BST, Sunday 25 October, 5.30pm GMT.

BBC World Service Indian Language Services

In the run-up to the US elections BBC News Hindi will be reporting in-depth analysis on a number of topics that will impact the Indian and larger South Asian diaspora living in the US.

Highlights will include how Republican and Democratic immigration policies will affect the diaspora, the role played by Indian and Pakistani financiers that support the election campaigns, and the impact on the Indian-American community following the rise of Narendra Modi’s right-wing government in India.

Coverage will also look at the difference between first and second generation Indian-Americans and their experiences during the Trump presidency and the challenges faced by female politicians of South Asian origin in this election campaign as Kamala Harris fights for her Vice President campaign.

BBC News Hindi will also hold weekly live discussions for digital audiences with eminent Indian American community members on the big issues of the election. Coverage will be available internationally across the BBC’s Indian language online services.

BBC World News

The Trump Effect: How He Changed America
After four years in office, Nick Bryant will explore how President Trump has changed the Presidency, and the country.

Saturday 24 October, 2.30am and 3.30pm BST and Sunday 25 Oct, 8.30pm GMT.

BBC Africa

BBC Africa will look at how the US elections will affect Africans living in the US and diaspora. Highlights include:

Opioid Crisis In The US
Opioid abuse was a key issue during the 2016 election campaign, and still exists. Victoria Uwonkunda looks at how opioid addiction affects the Somali community in Minneapolis.

15 October across TV and digital.

African-Americans That Have Returned To Africa And The Vote
A number of African Americans have moved to Ghana to build a new life. Thomas Naadi speaks to some of them to find out their opinions around the upcoming elections and whether they will be inclined to move back.

19 October across TV and radio.

How The Change In Trump’s Immigration Policy Affected Those Applying For Visas
The number of green cards and visas issued to immigrants in the US has reduced. BBC Africa looks at how this affects immigrants and revisits a Somali family in Kenya that had a visa to move to the US and start a new life, before Trump’s change in immigration policy in 2017 put a sudden halt to that, leaving the family no other option than to stay in a refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya.

Ferdi Ormondi reports on how the family’s lives have changed after the impact of Trump’s change in policy.
20 October across TV, radio and digital.

Africa’s Relationship With The US
America’s position in the world has changed. In the last few years, Africa has become less of a priority for America. This has left a gap for China - now Africa’s biggest trade partner. Nomsa Maseko travels to Lesotho in Southern Africa to look at how Africa-US relations have changed foreign policy under Trump.

22 October across TV and radio.