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

Television coverage of the 2024 presidential election drew 42 million viewers across 18 networks Tuesday night, according to Nielsen data, marking a 25% decrease from 2020’s election night audience of 56.9 million.

Live streaming gains ground as traditional broadcast election viewership declines

Fox News maintained its position as the most-watched network for election coverage, attracting 9.8 million viewers during prime coverage hours between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. eastern. ABC followed with 5.7 million viewers, while NBC drew 5.3 million.

MSNBC surpassed CNN in election night viewership for the first time in history, with CNN drawing 4.7 million viewers and MSNBC coming in at 5.5 million. MSNBC also notably beat its parent broadcast network by about 200,000 viewers.

CBS attracted 3.5 million viewers, while the Fox broadcast network reported 2.1 million. Fox Business Network and NewsNation rounded out the coverage with 710,000 and 257,000 viewers, respectively.

The demographic composition of the audience showed significant engagement among younger viewers, with 43% of viewers under age 55. The 55-plus age group represented 24.35 million viewers, while the 35-54 demographic accounted for 11.4 million viewers. The 18-34 age group contributed 4.38 million viewers.

NewsNation calls election earliest: See how other U.S. networks followed

NewsNation, which launched in 2021, called the election at 1:21 a.m. Wednesday, followed by Fox News at 1:46 a.m. Other major networks and the Associated Press made their calls in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

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The ratings decline aligns with broader trends in television viewership, as audiences increasingly turn to streaming platforms and social media for news consumption.

Nielsen measurements do not include streaming services or social media engagement.

The 2020 election coverage occurred during COVID-19 lockdowns, which industry note may have contributed to higher viewership numbers that year.