---
title: "Election night TV audience tumbles to 42 million; Fox leads"
description: "More than 42.3 million people tuned in to prime-time news coverage of the 2024 presidential election, a 25% decline from four years ago, according to data from Nielsen."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Newsdeck"
author: "Bloomberg"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/bloomberg/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-11-07-election-night-tv-audience-tumbles-to-42-million-fox-leads/"
published: "2024-11-07T05:36:19"
updated: "2024-11-07T05:36:21"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 227
---

# Election night TV audience tumbles to 42 million; Fox leads

> More than 42.3 million people tuned in to prime-time news coverage of the 2024 presidential election, a 25% decline from four years ago, according to data from Nielsen.

By Bloomberg · Published 7 November 2024, 07:36 SAST · Updated 7 November 2024, 07:36 SAST

## Key points
- On election night, Fox News strutted away with nearly 10.3 million viewers, while Donald Trump pulled off a political Houdini act, leaving traditional networks to tiptoe around declarations as streaming services jumped into the fray like eager party crashers.
- Fox News dominated election night viewership with nearly 10.3 million viewers, followed by ABC and MSNBC.
- Nielsen adjusted its earlier numbers, revealing 56.9 million viewers tuned in across 21 networks for prime-time coverage in 2020.
- Donald Trump made a remarkable political comeback, securing victory as news networks exercised caution in calling states.
- The 2024 election featured increased streaming options, with Amazon Prime Video and other platforms challenging traditional broadcast networks.

## Content

Fox News, at nearly 10.3 million viewers, was the most-watched channel on election night, based on numbers provided by that network, followed by ABC and MSNBC.

Nielsen’s total revises results reported earlier in the day, which were based on a smaller number of channels. An [estimated](https://www.nielsen.com/news-center/2020/media-advisory-2020-election-draws-56-9-million-viewers-during-prime/) 56.9 million tuned in to watch prime-time coverage in 2020 based on 21 networks, the research firm said. This year’s tally was based on 18.

Republican Donald Trump won the election in an[extraordinary political comeback](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-11-06/trump-wins-us-presidential-election).

In calling states for candidates, news networks showed caution and restraint, even as chances of a victory waned for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. While it took days for Joe Biden to emerge as winner of the 2020 race, Nexstar Media Group Inc.’s NewsNation became the first outlet to declare Trump the winner just a little after 1.22am New York time on Wednesday, citing [Decision Desk HQ](https://decisiondeskhq.com/services/about-us/), a research outfit.

The 2024 election saw more options for streaming, including on Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max and Comcast’s Peacock, meaning the conventional broadcast and cable outlets faced more competition.

Amazon.com Inc.’s Prime Video service featured an election show hosted by former NBC News anchor Brian Williams. The show, which lacked the huge screens and colourful graphics that are a staple of other networks, is part of an ongoing movement by streaming services to offer live programming.