On TV: A viewer's guide to the Republican National Convention

The Republican National Convention officially kicks off in Tampa on Monday, but most TV networks following the event will begin their coverage on Sunday, with discussions on morning roundtable shows and various "countdown" specials.

During the week of convention activity (the actual convention runs Monday through Thursday), broadcast networks and cable news channels will handle their coverage very differently.

The major broadcast networks -- ABC, CBS and NBC -- will be airing their morning and evening news programs from Tampa, but you'll only get one hour of primetime coverage (at 10 p.m.), and only Tuesday through Thursday (no primetime Monday coverage). PBS (UNC-TV locally) will devote three hours of primetime to the convention each night, but no daytime hours. For the super-duper wall-to-wall coverage, you'll want to head to the cable news channels, which will provide up to 20 hours per day of convention news and analysis.

Here's a brief breakdown of what everyone will offer: (UPDATE: There have been some big changes in the convention schedule thanks to Hurricane Isaac, but much of the coverage information below will stand. Any changes will be noted below as the information becomes available.)
 

BROADCAST NETWORKS
ABC: ABC will air "Good Morning America," "World News" and "Nightline" from Tampa Monday through Thursday, with Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos anchoring the network's primetime coverage at 10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday (ABC has no primetime coverage on Monday). ABC will have reporting from Jake Tapper, Jonathan Karl, David Muir, Terry Moran and Cecilia Vega, and analysis from George Will, Cokie Roberts, Matthew Dowd, Donna Brazile and others. The network is also partnering with Univision to offer insight on the impact of the Latino vote.
-Live-streaming? Yes. ABCNews.com (Also on mobile apps and ABC News Radio)
-Hashtag: #abcRNC

CBS: CBS will have Bob Schieffer's "Face the Nation" open things for them from Tampa on Sunday morning at 10:30. After that, "CBS Evening News" anchor Scott Pelley will have that broadcast each night from Tampa, and he'll lead the primetime coverage at 10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday as well (CBS has no primetime coverage on Monday). "CBS This Morning" will have Charlie Rose co-hosting from Tampa. The rest of the CBS team will include Norah O'Donnell, Bill Whitaker, Bill Plante and Jan Crawford.
-Live-streaming? Yes. cbsnews.com (also via CBS Radio and iPhone app)
-Hashtag: No.

NBC: NBC's       David Gregory begins his network's Tampa coverage with "Meet the Press" on Sunday morning at 9. Brian Williams will anchor "NBC Nightly News" from Tampa Monday through Thursday, and will also anchor primetime coverage from 10 p.m. 11 p.m. on Tuesday through Thursday (NBC has no primetime coverage on Monday). You'll also see a lot of Tom Brokaw and Andrea Mitchell this week. Matt Lauer will co-anchor split editions of "Today" from Tampa Wednesday and Thursday mornings.
-Live-streaming? Yes. NBCPolitics.com (Also on mobile apps)
-Hashtags: #RNC2012, #NBCPolitics, #Decision2012

PBS: "PBS NewsHour" will provide coverage each evening, Monday Tuesday through Thursday, from 8 from 7 p.m. until proceedings conclude, which is usually around 11 (changes reflect schedule tweaks due to Hurricane Isaac). Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff will co-anchor, with reporting from Jeffrey Brown and Ray Suarez and analysis from Mark Shields, David Brooks, Stuart Rothenberg, Michael Beschloss and Richard Norton Smith. Paul Solman from "Making Sen$e" will report on the local economy of Tampa (and also on Charlotte during the DNC). Extended coverage is through "PBS NewsHour" online access, which will include regular updates from PBS reporters. Live webcams will be stationed throughout various venues 24 hours a day. One of the PBS livestream channels will provide simultaneous Spanish translation.
-Live-streaming? Yes. PBS.org
-Hashtags: #pbsElection

CABLE NEWS
CNN: CNN kicks off their convention programming at 9 a.m. Sunday with Candy Crowley, followed by Howard Kurtz at 11. Once the convention starts on Monday, CNN will have live broadcasts starting at 5 a.m. and going all day long -- programs with John Berman, Soledad O'Brien, Wolf Blitzer and others. Primetime coverage for them begins at 7 p.m. with anchors Anderson Cooper, Erin Burnett and Candy Crowley, with support from John King, Gloria Borger and David Gergen. "Piers Morgan Tonight" gets pushed to midnight but still airs live from Tampa.  
-Live-streaming? Yes. CNN.com
-Hashtags: #CNNElections, #CNNGrill

C-SPAN: C-SPAN will air political discussion programs originating from Tampa each morning (usually starting around 7:45), but when things get going on the floor in the afternoons (times vary so check the schedule), C-SPAN will, for the most part, turn the camera on and walk away. If you want to see all the speeches without commentary and without commercials, this is the place for you.
-Live-streaming? Yes. CSPAN.org
- Hashtag: #cspanRNC

Fox News: Fox News starts off from Tampa at noon on Sunday with programs from Shannon Bream, Chris Wallace, Bill Hemmer, Martha MacCallum and Shepard Smith. There's a special convention report at 9 p.m. co-anchored by Bret Baier and Megyn Kelly. Then, starting Monday and continuing through Thursday, Fox News will begin coverage at 6 a.m. with "Fox & Friends." All Fox News programming all day will originate from Tampa, including work from John Roberts and James Rosen, and culminating with evening coverage from Baier and Smith. Fox analysts include Brit Hume, Juan Williams, Bill Kristol, Charles Krauthammer, Karl Rove, and Joe Trippi. There's more information at the Fox News site.
-Live-streaming? Yes. FoxNews.com (also on Fox News Radio).
-Hashtag: TBA

MSNBC: MSNBC will have 20 hours of live coverage each day from Tampa, starting at 5:30 a.m. The earliest shows, "Way Too Early with Willie Geist" and "Morning Joe" (with Joe Scarborough). The rest of the daily coverage includes  "Daily Rundown" with Chuck Todd and "Andrea Mitchell Reports" with Andrea Mitchell. Evening coverage will be hosted by Rachel Maddow and Chris Matthews beginning at 7 p.m. and running to 1 a.m. They'll be joined by Ed Schultz, Lawrence O'Donnell, Rev. Al Sharpton, Michael Steele, Ezra Klein, Howard Fineman and others.
-Live-streaming? Sort of. Same as NBC's NBCPolitics.com stream.
-Hashtag: TBA

OTHER OPTIONS

Current TV: Former Vice President Al Gore will lead Current TV's coverage, which runs each night from 7 to 11. Gore will be joined by former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm, former New York governor Eliot Spitzer and Cenk Uygur, who all host programs on Current TV. California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom will also join that group. Reporting and analysis from David Shuster, Michael Shure, Joy Behar and John Fugelsang.

-Live-streaming?
 Yes, Current.com
-Hashtag: TBA

Telemundo: José Díaz-Balart kicks off Telemundo's coverage on Sunday with "Enfoque con José Díaz-Balart,” airing at 12  noon. Diaz-Balart will continue to lead their coverage, anchoring live broadcasts of “Noticiero Telemundo” at 6:30 p.m. from each convention, plus other special reports to recap each day’s important events. Look for updates on programs at 7 a.m., 5 p.m. and 11:35 p.m.)
-Live-streaming? No
-Hashtag: No

News14 Carolina: North Carolina's local 24-hour news channel is joining forces with partners in Florida to round out their convention coverage. News 14 will carry major convention speeches live, and its "Capital Tonight" program will anchor from Tampa and provide interviews and insights from the day's action. That show airs at 7 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.
-Live-streaming? Major speeches. Stories are posted online and are available On Demand (channels 199 and 1047 on Time Warner Cable).
-Hashtag? No.

CNBC: CNBC will have special programming -- "Your Money, Your Vote" -- at 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, live from Tampa. That's anchored by Washington correspondent John Harwood, along with Larry Kudlow.
-Live-streaming? No
-Hashtag: No

Comedy Central: If you like your convention coverage with a healthy dose of snark, "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" will tape shows from Tampa Tuesday through Friday, instead of the show's normal Monday through Thursday schedule. "The Daily Show" will tape in the afternoons and air at 11 p.m. They've named their convention coverage, "RNC 2012: The Road to Jeb Bush 2016." "The Colbert Report," which airs at 11:30, will also adopt at Tuesday through Thursday schedule but will tape in New York City.

Note: Some times are subject to change as convention schedules are modified.