New York (CNN Business) It's a sign of the streaming times: The Democratic National Committee is requiring all of its TV network partners to live-stream primary debates on the web.

NBC, the first network partner, said Thursday that its two-night debate will be available on its websites and on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

The debates will take place next Wednesday and Thursday.

Television networks generally make their debates widely available on the web, anyway. But it is telling that the Democrats made this a requirement for this election cycle. It is a testament to the fact that more and more viewing is happening on streaming platforms.

"We have asked all of our potential partners to stream the debate for free, and they have agreed," a DNC spokeswoman told CNN Business. "Everyone understands that the more viewers, the better — and that has always been our north star. This was not required in 2016."

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