Live streaming gains ground as traditional broadcast election viewership declines

The 2024 presidential election demonstrated shifting viewer habits as traditional television numbers dropped while streaming platforms reported record-breaking engagement.

Nielsen Media Research reported 42.3 million viewers watched election coverage across 18 networks – a 25% decline from 2020’s 56.9 million viewers. Fox News dominated conventional media with 13 million viewers across its portfolio, including 10 million during its “Democracy 2024” primetime coverage.

Election night sees 25% drop in viewership, Fox leads the pack

Meanwhile, streaming platforms saw significant viewership.

YouTube was home to a variety of election live steams, accounting for more than 80% of total watch time across streaming platforms, according to data from Streams Charts.

Election-related streams generated 84 million hours of watch time, with peak concurrent viewership reaching 9.14 million viewers.

Fox News’ YouTube channel recorded 1.14 million peak concurrent viewers, while NBC News reached 616,900.

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On Rumble, political commentators Dan Bongino and Steven Crowder achieved their channels’ highest-ever viewership numbers. Twitch streamer HasanAbi drew 313,400 peak concurrent viewers.

The coverage landscape expanded to include new entrants, with Amazon Prime Video producing its first election special hosted by Brian Williams.

Viewer engagement patterns showed distinct differences between traditional and streaming audiences. While traditional television coverage concentrated on primetime hours between 7 and 11 p.m. ET, streaming broadcasts often ran continuously from the start of voting through final results.

U.S. viewers comprised 72.3% of streaming watch time, with additional significant viewership from India and the United Kingdom.