Was Wednesday the final presidential debate of 2016 or the opening night of the Trump News Channel?

Earlier in the week, The Financial Times reported that Donald J. Trump’s son-in-law had met with investors about possibly starting a television network. And a half-hour before the debate, we got a sneak preview of what Trump TV might look like, via Mr. Trump’s Facebook page.

“If you’re tired of biased, mainstream media reporting (otherwise known as Crooked Hillary’s super PAC),” Mr. Trump posted, “tune into my Facebook Live broadcast.”

That ramshackle pregame show was like state television produced by QVC, with interviews by, of and for Mr. Trump’s supporters, cable-news-like graphics and a relentless sales pitch.

Trump endorsers, including the former Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and Gen. Michael T. Flynn pre-hyped the debate. Ivanka Trump, in a taped message, called for donations and promised, “My father will make us all proud!” There were “ad breaks” for Mr. Trump’s campaign spots. Even he could not call this coverage rigged against him.