Election Night 2026 brought big ratings for the major news networks as Democrats swept both chambers of Congress. Millions of Americans tuned in to watch the results, giving CNN, Fox, and MS NOW a boost in viewership. However, it was NBC News that came out on top overall, thanks in part to election analyst Steve Kornacki, whose marathon coverage of the historic event also drew millions of viewers online.
Who won Election Night ratings?
According to final Nielsen ratings, NBC News was the overall winner on Election Night, averaging 6.74 million viewers during primetime, beating every other broadcast and cable news network (per The Guardian).
ABC News came in second, averaging 5.19 million viewers for its election coverage, followed by conservative-leaning Fox News in third place with 4.31 million viewers. CNN and MS NOW finished fourth and fifth with 4.14 million and 3.74 million viewers, respectively, while CBS News rounded out the list with 2.76 million.
While Fox News led cable news in total primetime viewership, its audience was down 41% compared with the 2022 midterm elections, when it averaged 7.42 million viewers. CNN, meanwhile, led cable news among adults ages 25–54, the key demographic for advertisers, with 1.51 million viewers.
Cable news coverage of Election Night
MS NOW and CNN saw strong viewership on Election Night, even as Fox News narrowly took the lead among cable news networks in the final Nielsen ratings. MS NOW averaged 3.74 million viewers during primetime, while CNN drew 4.14 million and Fox News averaged 4.31 million. MS NOW also attracted 1.66 million viewers across the full day, finishing ahead of CNN’s 1.55 million.
CNN also led cable news among adults ages 25–54, the key demographic for advertisers, averaging 1.51 million viewers during primetime, nearly double Fox News’s 771,000 and more than twice MS NOW’s 665,000.
Democrats were not the only big winners of the night
NBC’s Kornacki delivered some of the biggest numbers of the night with his 10.5-hour “Kornacki Cam” livestream, in which he delivered non-stop coverage of election results. Kornacki’s coverage brought in 29 million total views across platforms, with 6.1 million views on YouTube and more than 300,000 folks watching simultaneously at its peak.
NBC News/YouTube
The NBC News’ national political correspondent enthusiastically explained complicated voting patterns in a way that made sense to the average viewer. During the livestream, fans at home cheered him on even during his water breaks as he broke down district changes for the viewers.
But the other networks also benefited from the historical moment as well. CNN reported double-digit primetime ratings growth compared with the 2022 midterms, along with strong digital engagement, while MS NOW beat both CNN and Fox News over the full eight-hour election window.
Fox News led cable news in total primetime viewership, finishing third overall behind NBC and ABC, while CBS News finished last among the six major networks but reported an 8% increase in total viewers and a 12% increase among adults ages 25–54 compared with 2022.