Waiting game: Networks fill screens with data to key viewers interested

With networks decidedly geared up to offer extensive coverage of the 2024 race, there’s still one unavoidable factor about election coverage: Most of the impactful, exciting news about election day doesn’t actually come until the evening, leaving networks with hours of time to fill before numbers start coming in.

Of course, that doesn’t stop 24-hour cable networks from covering the election nearly non-stop before then — filling time with political analyst panels, last-minute campaign stop news, views of polling places and interviews with voters.

That still leaves a lot of time to fill — and in 2024, the major cable networks continue the practice of supplementing traditional coverage with additional on-screen information.

Fox framed its coverage with a combination of promo elements, historic facts and a “Keys to the Count” sidebar feature that tracked poll closing times, electoral vote counts, speed at which ballots are typically counted, rules about recounts and the 2020 winner for various states. 

Other options included “Races to Watch,” poll closing time lists and past election results from key states.

Another sidebar element could be inserted to track early voting data for a particular state, the network’s “Power Ranking” and the 2020 and 2016 winner. Countdowns to poll closing times were also mixed in. Other options included mini live feeds from polling places. 

The network also used the promo box space in the lower right of the screen to promote primtime coverage.

Advertisement

On the other side of the screen, the network used a stacked version of its “Democracy 2024” logo alternating with its normal logo, with diagonal line animation inspired by the searchlights in the logo used as a transition. 

MSNBC moved its normal lower third up to allow for an additional bar — which will presumably be filled with result information later in the day.

During election day, however, it was filled with early voting information for states.

The network used the lower right space to rotate through branding elements and promos, including a QR code to download its app.

Also mixed into the rotation was a larger promo banner for election night coverage with a countdown clock to the first poll closing time in a yellow box, a color that MSNBC and NBC has used to spotlight key information in its election graphics for some time now.

It also offered historical voting information about each state.

CNN could use its normal lower third banner real estate for a countdown to its evening coverage as well as information about pre-election day voting and historic information. 

Advertisement

When the banners were used for more traditional story headlines, the countdown to election coverage moved above the bug, a typical spot for similar elements on CNN.