NEW YORK – November 6, 2024 – An estimated 42.3 million viewers watched coverage of the 2024 U.S. presidential election across 18 TV networks on Tuesday, November 5, according to Nielsen.
While coverage varied by network, over 42 million viewers were tuned in from approximately 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. ET Tuesday evening to watch this year’s election results. A full list of reported networks can be referenced in the viewership table below.
Compared with the 2020 election which drew 56.9 million viewers in prime time, viewership in 2024 was down over 25%.
2024 Presidential Election | November 5, 2024
Viewership across TV networks; U.S. audience estimates.
| Viewing Audience | Rating | |
| Persons 2+ | 42,293,000 | 13.3 |
| Households | 28,450,000 | 22.6 |
| Persons 18-34 | 4,388,000 | 6.1 |
| Persons 35-54 | 11,400,000 | 13.9 |
| Persons 55+ | 24,350,000 | 24.2 |
Source: Nielsen. NNTV, Live+Same-Day.
Data in this table is inclusive of broadcast and cable networks that aired the event.
Reported networks include: ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CW, Merit Street Media, Scripps News, Telemundo, Univision, CNBC, CNN, CNNe, FOX News Channel, FOX Business Network, MSNBC, Newsmax, NewsNation, PBS.
Audience estimates are inclusive of out-of-home viewing for all reported networks except Merit Street Media, Newsmax, NewsNation, PBS and Scripps News which do not include out-of-home contributions.
Audience projections are rounded to the nearest thousand (000).
Press Contact
Lauren Pabst
lauren.pabst@nielsen.com
