The Other Midterms Flip: Broadcast Networks, Led by NBC, Dominated Election Night Coverage

Broadcasters accounted for 57 percent of primetime viewing on Tuesday.

For the first time in more than a decade, broadcast networks, with NBC leading, outdrew cable on an election night. In addition to changing the composition of Congress and a number of statehouses, the midterm elections brought another kind of disruption to the status quo: For the first time in 6 election cycles, more people watched the returns come in on network TV than on cable. Per Nielsen ratings, 31.21 million people watched primetime election coverage on 13 broadcast and cable outlets Tuesday, significantly more than the 25.43 million viewers for the 2022 midterms. Of that audience, 57 percent (17.79 million) watched on broadcast outlets (NBC, ABC, CBS, Univision, Telemundo and PBS), and just 43 percent (13.42 million) on cable channels.

That’s exactly the inverse of four years ago, when 57 percent of viewers went to cable for midterm coverage. It’s been 14 years since broadcast networks drew a clear majority of election night viewers (there was a roughly 50-50 split in 2016). That was also the last election a broadcaster led all comers on — and in both 2012 and this year, NBC finished first. The network had 6.74 million viewers in primetime Tuesday, more than doubling its 2022 average. ABC also improved considerably, growing by 57 percent from four years ago to 5.19 million viewers. CBS was off