What Channel Is The Next GOP Debate On?

Heads up, folks — there’s another Republican presidential debate just around the corner. This will be the fourth one of the season, in case you’re not keeping track (which, really, why would you be?), and the stakes are higher this time. You’ll recall that CNBC, which hosted the last GOP debate, was almost universally criticized for its handling of the forum. Some took issue with the moderating team’s disorder, while others claimed, incorrectly, that the questions themselves lacked substance. Will this one be conducted more professionally? And what channel is the fourth Republican debate on?

That honor will fall to Fox Business Network — not to be confused with Fox News, which hosted the first GOP debate. The next debate will air at FBN, which, as the name suggests, is a business-oriented network; Rupert Murdoch launched the channel in 2007 after determining that CNBC, its direct competitor, was “too negative towards business.” That’s mild compared to the complaints CNBC has fielded for its handling of the last debate; right-wing site RedState branded it a “dumpster fire,” while conservative pundit Brent Bozell accused the debate’s moderators of acting “less like journalists and more like Clinton campaign operators.”

But if the debate was indeed a dumpster fire, it wasn’t due to any ideological bias on the part of the moderators. In reality, the questions were quite reasonable. Ben Carson, for example, was asked how he’d deal with the $1 trillion revenue gap that his 15 percent flat tax plan is projected to create — a perfectly relevant question. Carly Fiorina was asked whether she’d support an Internet sales tax. Ted Cruz was asked how, if at all, his policies would help close the wage gap between men and women. And so on.

The CNBC debate was a disaster not because the questions were bad, but because the moderators were inadequately prepared for the task at hand. They frequently interrupted and talked over each other, creating unnecessary confusion for viewers and candidates alike. At several points, the candidates falsely accused the moderators of having bad information, and the moderators backed down despite being correct. In general, the moderators had a hard time controlling the Republicans on stage that night, and the forum often devolved into a shouting match as a result. Needless to say, FBN will do its best to avoid these mistakes.

The FBN debate will be broadcast live on Nov. 10. Like the last three debates, it will be split into two segments: The undercard debate, featuring the four lowest-polling candidates, will air at 7 p.m. ET, while the main event will begin at 9 p.m. ET.