How to watch 2020 Democratic National Convention: Stream the virtual event from anywhere

2020 Dnc
2020 Dnc (Image credit: DNC)

The 2020 political season couldn't be boiling to a hotter climax and yet there's still more to come. The Democratic National Convention should kick that heat up a notch to the next level as it gets underway on Monday August 17 for four whole days.

Presumptive democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden announced on Tuesday August 11 that Senator Kamala Harris is his pick for Vice President and running mate. Since then, there has been even more anticipation and fever around the Democratic National Convention as the Democratic Party attempts to unify itself around these two people.

The schedule and speakers were announced ahead of the VP pick and so we already know that notable names like the Obamas, Elizabeth Warren, Alexandria Osasio-Cortez, Sally Yates, John Kerry, Bill Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Pete Buttigieg, among many more.

The main event is nightly from 9PM - 11PM Eastern Time, Monday through Thursday. Although each day has some controversial people to spark interest, it's the final day of the event on Thursday that will see Joe Biden and Kamala Harris both speak.

Read on for full details on how to get a live stream of how to fully watch and stream the 2020 DNC and all its speakers with our guide below.

DNC 20: Where and when?

The 2020 Democratic National Convention is completely virtual this year because of the COVID-19 risk of large groups of people gathering together. The crowds won't be present and the atmosphere will be different, but all the content should be relatively the same.

The DNC starts Monday, August 17 and there is daytime programming from 9AM - 7PM ET each day. This mostly includes meetings from different caucuses during the day. The biggest names will be speaking between 9PM - 11PM ET each night.

Watch DNC online from anywhere in the world

We have details of all the US, UK, Australian and Canadian broadcasters of this match further down in this guide. If you're intent on watching the U.S. Democratic National Convention, but find yourself running into problems when trying to stream your coverage online from abroad as it's likely to be geo-blocked.

That's where one of the best VPNs (Virtual Private Network) can really come in handy. They allow you to virtually change the IP address of your laptop, tablet or mobile to one that's back in your home country which will let you watch as if you were back there.

VPNs are incredibly easy to use and have the added benefit of providing you with an additional layer of security when surfing the web. There are also a lot of options but we recommend ExpressVPN as our top pick due to its speed, security and ease of use. The service can even be used on a wide array of operating systems and devices (e.g. iOS, Android, Smart TVs, Fire TV Stick, Roku, game consoles, etc). Sign up for ExpressVPN now and enjoy a 49% discount and 3 months FREE with an annual subscription. You can even test it out for yourself thanks to the service's 30-day money back guarantee. Looking for more options?

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How to watch DNC 2020 in the U.S.

In the U.S. you can stream all of the DNC content on its website at demconvention.com/watch. This works well for watching from a laptop or tablet and includes all daytime and evening programming.

The primetime event runs August 17-20 from 9PM - 11PM ET each night. You can stream the most notable speakers at the same link or download the DNC smart TV apps on Apple TV, Roku, or Amazon Fire TV. Other free streaming options of the DNC include watching on Twitch at Twitch.tv/demconvention.

AT&T Uverse customers can watch on channels 212/1212, while AT&T DirectTV customers can watch on channel 201.

SlingTV customers can stream the convention on its various news channels carrying the primetime event live. Hulu will be showing the DNC live and for free for all its customers, regardless if they pay for the live tier or not.

How to watch DNC 2020 in Canada

For those neighbors to the north, following along with U.S. elections, you can also stream the entire convention at the website demconvention.com/watch. To use your smart TV or internet connected streaming device, head to an app store on Apple TV, Roku, or Amazon Fire TV to search for the DNC app.

Seeing as SlingTV isn't available outside the U.S., only VPN users will have access through this method.

How to watch DNC 2020 in UK

For Americans living abroad, the best method is directly through the DNC website or its smart tv apps available for a wide number of platforms.

Similarly, the streaming options from SlingTV and others isn't supported in the U.K., unless you are a VPN user already. Beyond that, the biggest problem for U.K. viewers is that each primetime speaking event will begin at 2AM BST the next morning.

Tyler Hayes