Fox News' online team dropped the ball last month when computer and mobile phone users were blocked from streaming the election season's first Republican presidential debate.
Those without a cable subscription had two options: find a live blog or stream it through an unofficial outlet. Europe's Sky News covered the event on their YouTube channel, but Fox News quickly shut it down citing copyright laws, despite the fact that both are owned by 21st Century Fox.
CNN won't be as stringent with Wednesday night's GOP debate. The cable news giant is offering cord-cutters free streaming coverage on CNN.com and through its Android and Apple apps. Apple TV users will be the only ones who will need cable authentication.
Viewers won't have to log in or subscribe to anything to watch, but they will have to sit through demographic-specific commercials. Regardless, CNN isn't worried about losing ratings, especially when Fox garnered over 24 million television viewers primarily drawn by Donald Trump's inclusion.
"I think if you have a TV and you're sitting in front of a TV and you have a cable subscription, you're going to watch the debate on TV," Andrew Morse, head of US editorial operations and worldwide digital at CNN, told Mashable. "If you don't happen to be sitting in front of the TV, it's historic moment that we think people are going to seek out."
Online coverage begins at 8 p.m. EST but an earlier forum featuring Lindsey Graham, Rick Santorum, Bobby Jindal, and George Pataki will air at 6 p.m.
When: Sept. 16, 2015
Where: Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Simi Valley, Calif.
Time: 8 p.m. EST
Live stream: CNN.com, CNN app
Moderator: Jake Tapper, host of CNN's "State of the Union"
Participants: Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, Chris Christie, Carly Fiorina, Scott Walker, Rand Paul, Mike Huckabee, Marco Rubio, and John Kasich
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