Jon Stewart, O' Reilly to Duke it Out in Streaming PPV Debate

Jon Stewart, political commentator and comedian, and Bill O' Reilly, have teamed up to bring us the political debate we were hoping to see in the presidential election. Unlike that one, this is at least partially a charity drive, an attempt to gather money to support families with autistic children.

Also unlike the Presidential debate, or Bill 'O Reilly's show, or John Stewart's show, the 'Rumble in the Air-Conditioned Auditorium,' as the event is called, will be streaming solely online. You can't access it unless you view it through an internet browser of some sort, though the team who made the broadcast have figured out how to get it onto your Roku, Boxee, Apple TV, Google TV, Logitech Revue (really just an outdated Google TV) and more.

One thing to note: to view this clash, you're going to have to pony up $4.99. Not a bad price, though, for a charity event, and it does get you access to three streams (including the live one) and a download of both the audio from the debate and HD video.

If you're inclined to watch the debate, it will be airing today at 8:00 PM.

In many ways, this debate is a descendant of the work of Louis C.K., who has run several internet-only shows to great (and I mean great) success. Last time C.K. was on Stewart's show, Stewart couldn't help but ask about that.

For their part, Stewart and O' Reilly aren't as much of enemies as one would expect. The duo have duked it out 13 times before, over the course of their respective careers, and both have admitted respect for the other one. O' Reilly, who usually seems like an angry idiot on his show, comes across as significantly more measured when with Stewart, laughing quietly at the jokes and letting himself be the butt of many of them. It goes to show how much of his show is now about theatricality rather than actual reporting. I'm willing to bet that O' Reilly is looking forward to the opportunity to debate real issues again, without the nonsense of precedent.

Then again, he's debating a comedian, so you never know.

The Verge Photo by : The Rumble 2012