Sen. Edward Kennedy 1932-2009

Sen. Edward Kennedy died overnight after a 15-month battle with brain cancer. Sen. Kennedy died at his home in Hyannis Port, MA. ABC News was first to report the news at 1:18amET with Terry Moran anchoring and George Stephanopoulos reporting. ABC then produced a new Nightline for the West Coast, and any station that wanted to broadcast it, at 2:35amET.

A search through TVEyes reveals CNNI broke into a re-air of AC360 on CNN/U.S. at 1:22amET to report the news. MSNBC reported Kennedy’s death at 1:28am and Fox News at 1:25am for a brief update before returning to coverage at 1:37amET.

> More: Inside Cable News liveblogged the coverage…

> The statement from Sen. Kennedy’s office, emailed to the media at 1:19amET, after the jump…

Statement from The Kennedy Family

“Edward M. Kennedy – the husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle we loved so deeply – died late Tuesday night at home in Hyannis Port. We’ve lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever. We thank everyone who gave him care and support over this last year, and everyone who stood with him for so many years in his tireless march for progress toward justice, fairness and opportunity for all. He loved this country and devoted his life to serving it. He always believed that our best days were still ahead, but it’s hard to imagine any of them without him.”

Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting June 7. Speakers include Abigail Cusick (Bravo Digital), Gregory Galant (Sawhorse Media), Alex Leo (Thomson Reuters Digital), Jim Tobin (Ignite Social Media), and many more. Read the reviews.