Fox News leads election night ratings, while MSNBC leads CNN for the first time

Fox News was the top choice for television viewers on election night, marking the second straight time the conservative network led its rivals in viewership in the presidential results.

From 8 to 11 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, Fox News averaged 10.3 million viewers who tuned in for coverage of former President Trump's victory over Vice President Kamala Harris, according to Nielsen data.

The evening was a milestone for MSNBC, which surpassed CNN on a presidential election night for the first time.

That to Comcast Corp. Owned by MSNBC, it averaged 6 million viewers, surpassing CNN's 5.1 million viewers. CNN, owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, lost nearly half of its 9.6 million viewers in the 2020 presidential election.

The total number of television viewers of election coverage decreased compared to 2020. Nielsen said 42.3 million viewers tuned in for election coverage across 18 measured networks, down 25% from 2020. During this cycle, the result was not announced for days. Democrat Joe Biden was ultimately declared the winner over then-incumbent Trump.

The declines are due to viewers moving away from traditional television, particularly among viewers under 50 who have turned to streaming and social media for their news consumption. Cord cutting has led to a decline in the number of households reached by cable news outlets.

Fox News' coverage, anchored by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, fell from a record 13.8 million viewers in 2020, a year in which cable news networks' viewership hit an all-time high. Despite MSNBC's improved competitive position, the number of channels fell from 7.3 million in 2020.

Jen Psaki during MSNBC's coverage of the 2024 presidential election.

(NBC News)

The radio stations were also down.

ABC averaged 5.7 million viewers, followed by NBC (5.5 million viewers), followed by CBS (3.6 million), the Fox Broadcast Network (2 million), Fox Business Network (897,000) and NewsNation (265,000) , which also aired on the CW Network.

More and more viewers are streaming election coverage online. Fox News said its digital sites received 47.2 million views between 6 p.m. and 3 a.m. Eastern Time. MSNBC's YouTube channel had its biggest day on record with 30 million video views.

MSNBC's “Kornacki Cam,” which offered a continuous look at Steve Kornacki's analysis of the vote, garnered more than 9 million video starts on YouTube.