Fox News Leads Primetime Election Coverage Race With 9.8 Million Viewers

Onlookers in Times Square watch ABC presidential election coverage
Onlookers in Times Square in New York watch ABC’s election night coverage. (Image credit: Mark Abramson/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Fox News Channel easily led broadcast and cable networks in audiences for its primetime election coverage with an average of 9.8 million viewers in the 8-11 p.m. (ET) time slot, while ABC attracted 5.7 million viewers 2-plus and MSNBC pulled in 5.5 million.

NBC earned the fourth largest audience at 5.3 million, followed by CNN at 4.7 million and CBS at 3.5 million.

While the election night coverage was highly anticipated, following the most expensive campaigns in history, early indications are that viewing averaged 36.6 million viewers across the broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC) and three biggest cable news channels (CNN, FNC and NBC), according to The Hollywood Reporter. That is way down from the 50.7 million who tuned into those outlets four years ago during primetime.

Fox News Media properties (FNC, Fox Business Network, the Fox broadcast network and Fox News Digital) had 13 million viewers 2-plus, according to the division. About 4 million of those were in the adults 25-54 demo used to sell advertising, with FNC getting about 2.9 million of its 9.8 million viewers from the 25-54 age group.

ABC has about 2.2 million in that demo, followed by NBC (2.1 million), CNN (2 million) and CBS (1.2 million).

In its first coverage of a presidential election, NewsNation attracted 257,000 P2+ and about 65,000 in the 25-54 demo.

In the six p.m. to 3 a.m. ET time slot, FNC had an average of 8.2 million P2+ and 2.4 million in the 25-54 demo while CNN had 3.5 million P2+ and 1.5 million in the 25-54 age group and MSNBC has 3.9 million P2+ and 1.1 million viewers aged 25-54.

George Winslow

George Winslow is the senior content producer for TV Tech. He has written about the television, media and technology industries for nearly 30 years for such publications as Broadcasting & Cable, Multichannel News and TV Tech. Over the years, he has edited a number of magazines, including Multichannel News International and World Screen, and moderated panels at such major industry events as NAB and MIP TV. He has published two books and dozens of encyclopedia articles on such subjects as the media, New York City history and economics.