ABC News Live Announces New Programming Strategy, Reporters Linsey Davis, Tom Llamas to Expand Roles with Network

ABC News Live has announced a wave of new programming coming to their streaming news coverage. Reporters Linsey Davis and Tom Llamas will be expanding their roles at the network starting with coverage of the nation’s first 2020 Caucus and Primary.

What’s happening:

  • ABC News Live is kicking off a bold strategy for new, original programming in 2020.
  • By year’s end, ABC News Live will air 18 hours of live and original content daily across all dayparts.
  • The streaming channel’s schedule will include a mix of live, anchored news programs in prime time, morning and daytime, breaking news coverage and all-new original documentaries.
  • To kick off the first wave of new programming, ABC News has expanded the roles of correspondent Linsey Davis and chief national affairs correspondent and World News Tonight Weekend anchor Tom Llamas to anchor two prime-time hours streaming each weeknight and breaking news and live special event coverage, respectively.
  • Both will continue in their broadcast roles, reporting from the field and delivering exclusive news-making interviews for all ABC News programs

2020 Caucus and Primary Coverage:

  • As the first votes are cast in the 2020 election, Llamas will anchor ABC News Live’s special coverage of the Iowa Caucus on Monday, February 3, at 8:00 pm EST live from the Hawkeye State with ABC News’ political team.
  • Beginning Monday, February 10, on the eve of the New Hampshire primary, Davis will anchor a brand new prime-time newscast weeknights at 7:00 pm EST and a second hour each night at 9:00 pm EST.

What they’re saying:

  • Justin Dial, senior executive producer, ABC News Live: “In 2020, we have the rare opportunity to create what a perfect 24/7 news channel looks like – breaking news, live events and documentary storytelling all in one place. “I’m thrilled ABC News Live will have Linsey Davis and Tom Llamas to lead the charge. They are both terrific journalists with top-notch experience doing live interviews and reporting from the field, which is where we want to see them, too, not just behind a desk.”
  • Linsey Davis: “Long-form reporting and the opportunity to ask all of the important questions in interviews are by far my favorite part of the job and I’m excited to do even more of that on ABC News Live. Our prime-time show will feature in-depth storytelling and diverse reporting and I’m excited to have two hours each weeknight to spend more time diving deeper into these stories.”
  • Tom Llamas: “Streaming is the next frontier in broadcast journalism, and we’re entering this new era full speed with the global resources and incredible journalists that make up ABC News. Viewers expect news on demand, especially breaking news, and ABC News Live will be there for them. There’s no shortage of news these days, and there will certainly be a lot of it during the week of February 3.”

About Linsey Davis:

  • Davis moderated the ABC News Democratic presidential primary debate in Houston, alongside ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos and David Muir and Univision’s Jorge Ramos.
  • In the last year Davis has conducted interviews with Georgia’s Stacey Abrams and rapper 21 Savage after his ICE arrest that made headlines nationwide.
  • Davis has spent time covering the Harvey Weinstein allegations and subsequent MeToo Movement, including an interview with Ronan Farrow, and landed the only interview with comedian Bill Cosby in the wake of dozens of sexual assault allegations.

About Tom Llamas:

  • Llamas has been the anchor of both World News Tonight’s weekend editions since 2017 and led news-making interviews with first lady Melania Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro; and most recently with David Langford, the American father whose family was ambushed and killed in Mexico late last year.
  • This week, Llamas is anchoring ABC News Live’s gavel-to-gavel coverage of the Senate impeachment trial, and he will be live in Manchester, New Hampshire, with the ABC News political team for the ABC News debate on Friday, February 7, and the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday, February 11.

More from ABC News Live:

  • ABC News Live will take advantage of streaming’s unlimited shelf space to feature multiple original documentaries throughout the year. Guardians of the Amazon from the Nightline team will debut in late February.

About Guardians of the Amazon

  • “The Amazon is at a dangerous tipping point as illegal logging is slowly ravaging millions of acres of rainforest, which is considered essential to the health of our planet. As nations debate how to protect the land, the indigenous Brazilians who live there are forced to fend for themselves and their homes.”
  • Anchor Dan Harris and ABC News gained rare access to an indigenous tribe, the Guajajara, who have taken up arms against the loggers deep in the Brazilian jungle to bring their illegal operation to a halt by any means necessary.

What they’re saying:

  • Colby Smith, senior vice president and general manager, ABC News Digital and Live Streaming: “The streaming news era is here, and we expect our viewership will continue to grow rapidly this year. As journalists and storytellers, we intend to define what streaming news looks like.”

ABC News Live is available for streaming on:

  • The Roku Channel
  • Hulu Live
  • Xumo
  • ABCNews.com
  • ABC News and ABC mobile apps
  • ABC News OTT app
  • Roku
  • Amazon Fire TV
  • Apple TV

ABC News Creative team:

  • Seni Tienabeso is executive producer for ABC News Live prime-time coverage.
  • Katie den Daas is executive producer for ABC News Live special event coverage
  • Cat McKenzie is senior producer.
  • Justin Dial is senior executive producer for ABC News Live.