Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
The 2024 election was one of the more hotly contested races in recent memory, and that led to high TV viewership during the election night coverage, with Fox News taking the top spot in early returns.
According to the fast national numbers from Nielsen, nearly 10 million viewers tuned into coverage on Fox News between 8-11 PM ET. In total, 9.8 million watched as Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum anchored the network’s election evening program. Nielsen data also shows Fox News was the most-watched network in the swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
MSNBC — with coverage led by Rachel Maddow — averaged 5.5 million viewers during the three-hour window. CNN earned 4.7 million viewers during the timeslot. That marks the first time in network history that MSNBC topped CNN on election night. The audience of 4.7 million viewers for CNN represents a 50% decrease compared to the figures it saw during the 2020 race.
Fox Business Network featured an average audience of 710,000 during the timeslot, while NewsNation finished with 257,000.
On the network news side, ABC News led the way with 5.7 million viewers. NBC News was not far behind with 5.3 million viewers. CBS Averaged an audience of 3.5 million, while the FOX broadcast network saw 2.1 million.
