ABC News and Nat Geo Partner to Produce 2-Hour Live Special ‘Eclipse Across America’ on April 8
ABC News and Nat Geo will cover next month’s total solar eclipse via a live two-hour special on Monday, April 8, that will run across several Disney linear and streaming outlets. “Eclipse Across America” is set to be simulcast that afternoon from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. ET on ABC, National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo Wild, Disney+ and Hulu (via the ABC News Live channel) as the eclipse travels across North America.
“World News Tonight” anchor David Muir and “ABC News Live Prime” anchor Linsey Davis, reporting live from Burlington, Vt., will host the special. Assisting them with information about the eclipse will be Nat Geo’s Mariana van Zeller (“Trafficked”) and Nat Geo Explorers photographer Cristina Mittermeier (“Photographer”), as well as astrophotographer Babak Tafreshi and astrophysicists Jedidah Isler and Ved Chirayath.
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The live telecast will hop from location to location as the eclipse runs through different cities; the plan is a bit reminiscent of ABC News’ “ABC 2000” special, which covered time-zone-by-time-zone millennium celebrations across the globe for 24 hours as 1999 turned into the year 2000.
In this case, “Eclipse Across America” will include live remotes from ten different North American cities as they one-by-one experience 100% totality of the eclipse. Here’s where the telecast will visit, along with the correspondents in each town:
Mazatlán, Mexico (approx. 2:07-2:11 p.m. ET): ABC News correspondent Matt Rivers
Del Rio, Texas (approx. 2:28-2:32 p.m. ET): ABC News national correspondent Mireya Villarreal and van Zeller
Dallas, Texas (approx. 2:40-2:44 p.m. ET): “GMA3” co-anchors DeMarco Morgan and ABC News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton, along with a live check-in from Tafreshi at Frio Cave
Russellville, Ark. (approx. 2:51-2:54 p.m. ET): ABC News foreign correspondent Maggie Rulli with hundreds of couples at the “Total Eclipse of the Heart” mass wedding
Carbondale, Ill. (approx. 2:59-3:05 p.m. ET): ABC News chief meteorologist Ginger Zee and Isler at Southern Illinois University
Indianapolis, Ind. (approx. 3:06-3:09 p.m. ET): “Good Morning America” weekend co-anchor Gio Benitez at the Indy 500 Speedway
Cleveland, Ohio (approx. 3:13-3:17 p.m. ET): “Good Morning America” weekend co-anchor Whit Johnson at the Great Lakes Science Center
Niagara Falls, N.Y. (approx. 3:18-3:22 p.m. ET): ABC News meteorologist Rob Marciano and Mittermeier close to the Falls. ABC News multiplatform reporter Reena Roy also live from this location for ABC NewsOne, the affiliate news service of ABC News
Burlington, Vt. (approx. 3:26-3:29 p.m. ET): with Muir and Davis at ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain
Houlton, Maine (approx. 3:32-3:35 p.m. ET): One of the last communities in America to see the eclipse
“We are thrilled to partner with National Geographic on an unprecedented, multiplatform watch event for this highly anticipated natural phenomenon,” Reena Mehta, SVP of streaming and digital content for ABC News, said in a statement. “Bringing audiences together across multiple Disney platforms on all devices will ensure that no one misses a moment live or on demand.”
The path of the total solar eclipse is expected to hit around 32 million people across North America; the next similar event in the U.S. won’t take place until 2044.
Besides the linear and streaming outlets (including ABC News Live), “Eclipse Across America” will be simulcast on social including on ABC News’ Facebook, YouTube channel and TikTok accounts, as well as Nat Geo’s Facebook account. Additional social content from ABC News and Nat Geo will be posted on those platforms during the eclipse, and viewers will be asked to use the hashtag #EclipseAcrossAmerica to potentially see their content featured on air. Nat Geo photographer and Explorers content will be curated by Mittermeier for air as well.
“This collaboration between Nat Geo and ABC is a dream come true,” said Tom McDonald, EVP of unscripted for National Geographic Content. “With Nat Geo’s 136-year expertise in factual storytelling combined with trusted anchors from the country’s leading news source, ABC News, this partnership is unmatched. I can think of no better way to bring this thrilling event to audiences.”
Before “Eclipse Across American,” “GMA3” will air a live preview with Morgan and Dr. Ashton on location in Dallas and with Eva Pilgrim from New York at 1 p.m. ET. Also, “World News Tonight with David Muir” and ABC News Live’s “Prime with Linsey Davis” will broadcast from Burlington, Vt.
Among other ABC News properties, “Good Morning America,” “Nightline,” ABC News Digital (including a live blog on ABCNews.com), ABC News’ daily podcast “Start Here” and ABC News Radio (via correspondent Jim Ryan in Texas) plan special coverage of the eclipse. At Nat Geo, it has partnered with Spotify to curate a playlist centered around the eclipse, while NatGeo.com will offer other tips on how to witness the event.
“Eclipse Across America” is produced by ABC News in partnership with National Geographic. For ABC News, Marc Burstein, Cat Mckenzie, Molly Shaker and Seni Tienabeso serve as executive producers. For National Geographic, Chad Cohen serves as executive producer.
Here’s a promo for “Eclipse Across America”:
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