NBC Leads, Early Numbers Up from 2022
The Hollywood Reporter • • entertainment
Key Points:
- NBC led primetime election night viewership during the 2026 midterms with an average of 6.8 million viewers, marking a significant improvement from its fourth-place finish in 2022 and making it the first broadcast network to top federal election night ratings since 2012.
- ABC followed NBC with 5.12 million viewers, while CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News had closely competing audiences around 4 million each; CBS trailed with 2.73 million viewers.
- Total viewership across the six major networks reached 27.05 million, surpassing the 2022 midterms' 25.43 million but still below the 2018 midterms' record of 36.11 million.
- NBC dominated the key 25-54 adult demographic with 2.93 million viewers, significantly ahead of ABC and CNN, while Fox News, CBS, and MSNBC had similar but lower numbers in this group.
- NBC's "Kornacki Cam" live stream attracted 29 million views across platforms, including 6.1 million on YouTube, peaking at around 300,000 concurrent viewers, highlighting strong digital engagement with election coverage.
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