The Cord Cutter’s Guide to Watching the Iowa Caucuses Live

On Monday night, millions of Americans will turn on their TVs, crack open a beer, and watch nonstop coverage of the Democratic and Republican Iowa caucuses. As Motherboard's resident pro-wrestling fan, I can honestly say that, this side of WrestleMania or Wrestle Kingdom, there isn't a more entertaining television event than the (neverending) US presidential election… which is kind of a problem if you're a cord cutter.

While the main broadcast networks will only air limited coverage of the caucuses—CBS News, for example, told me earlier this week that viewers of its regularly scheduled Monday evening programming can expect brief "cut-ins" during commercial breaks—the real action will take place on cable news networks like CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC. But for anyone who's said sayonara to paying hand-over-fist for cable or satellite, that means missing out on the lion's share of live, wall-to-wall coverage.

What options, then, do cord cutters have to follow all of the action right as it happens?

More than you might think.

Sling TV

No, Sling TV is not free, but for $20 per month you get access to a whole host of live cable channels including ESPN, Food Network, and HGTV. You also get access to cable TV powerhouse CNN, which told me in an email that it will be "all over Iowa." (This is how I will be following the evening's events.) The network will also have a new, mobile-first "real-time results center" that will aggregate data, exit polls, and results as they come in. No cable subscription of any kind is required for this, CNN told me. Sling TV has a free seven-day trial, so you could conceivably follow along for free. The service is available on most major platforms including Android, iOS, Roku, Amazon Fire and Windows.

CBSN

Launched in November 2014, CBSN is CBS News' live, internet-based news channel. It's totally free and available for most major platforms, including Android, iOS, Roku, and the web. It will also have all day coverage of Iowa beginning at 9 AM ET on Monday, a CBS News representative told me in an email. The main event—that is, prime time coverage—begins at 7 PM ET and will be anchored by veteran journalist Elaine Quijano. Since CBSN is free (unlike Sling TV/CNN), it may be the solution of choice for cord cutters who need their fill of pundits breaking down Hillary Clinton versus Bernie Sanders and WWE Superstar Donald Trump versus Ted Cruz.

"Thanks, Dad"

CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC all offer a livestream that's available on their various apps and websites, but the catch is that you need a cable TV login to actually watch (though CNN does offer a 10-minute free preview of its livestream before it asks for a login). Theoretically, you could, say, borrow a cable or satellite TV login from a friend or family member for the evening. There's also plenty of sketchy streaming websites out there that carry the cable networks' livestreams, but I've also found these sorts of streams to be more trouble than they're worth.

Etc.

These last few aren't traditional TV sources but will certainly serve as useful sources of information on the night of the caucuses. First—and this barely needs any mention—is Twitter. With Twitter, you're likely to have the best experience if you follow a good mix of hard news and politics accounts (which perhaps speaks to Twitter's broader issues), but Twitter's Moments feature will likely feature Iowa-related goodness, too. Over at Google, Google Trends will be worth following, with the company telling me via email that a special section of the website will host "the latest Google data and insights" come Monday evening. Snapchat is also an option, having just launched a dedicated Discover channel called "Good Luck America" (which is an amazing name for many, many reasons). It's the company's first crack at creating original news programming, offering users a mix of serious and lighthearted behind-the-scenes footage from across the state. I'm a relative newcomer to Snapchat—follow Motherboard here!—, but I was genuinely blown away by Good Luck America in my research. And then there's Periscope, the livestreaming app that picked up steam as a campaign coverage tool shortly after it was released in March 2015. The company told me that viewers should check out accounts from blue chip publications like The Huffington Post and Huffpolitics, and I wouldn't be too surprised to see the campaigns themselves active on the service all evening long.

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America, it's time to get excited. Beginning on Monday in Iowa, the Democrats and the Republicans will officially begin the long and painful process of selecting their presidential candidate. Expect some laughs, some tears, and some pure, batshit crazy insanity, but at least here in 2016 you're not beholden to Big Cable to follow along.