• by David Goetzl , October 21, 2008

DirecTV will give Election Night viewers the feel of being in a network control room. A single channel on the satellite provider will carry a mosaic of eight live network feeds as each reports results and offers commentary.

Called the Election Mix Channel, the figure eight will include streams from the four major broadcasters, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, BBC America, as well as Comedy Central's coverage. With Web-like functionality, viewers will be able to toggle between screens, both with the audio and the video. They can select the audio that's heard, while expanding a single network to fill the full screen.

DirecTV will also have a breaking news ticker with results, quotes and analysis moving across the bottom of the screen. The Election Mix Channel is the interactive blog that will feature live posts with up-to-the-minute information from the night, including results from local and national races, the networks' exit-polling data and electoral count projections.

The channel, which will be available in HD, is not entirely novel, as DirecTV has used the mosaic format for its sports coverage.

The channel will offer its simultaneous feeds Nov. 4 from 7 p.m. until the next morning.