Cable news networks Tuesday set Election night ratings records as viewers tuned in throughout the night to watch Donald Trump’s march toward his historic Presidential election win, according to Nielsen Fast Nationals data.
During the 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. period during which Trump was declared the winner, Fox News averaged a record 12.7 million viewers -- topping all cable news networks for the period -- while also setting single day digital and mobile video views and unqiue device usage, according to Nielsen.
CNN drew a record 13.3 million primetime viewers last night, besting the 12.2 million viewers it drew for the 2008 Presidential election and the 9.2 million the network garnered in 2012, according to Nielsen. CNN bested Fox News’ 12.1 million viewers and MSNBC’s 5.9 million viewers in primetime for the night, according to Nielsen.
Fox Business Network also set a record with 1 million total viewers during the 8 pm to 3 am time period, according to early Nielsen data.
In addition, CNN averaged 6.6 million adult 25-54 year old viewers, ahead of Fox News’ 4.6 million and MSNBC’s 2.3 million watchers. CNN saw 27.7 million live streams of its Election Night in America coverage, peaking at 11:30 ET with 2.34 million concurrent viewers. The network also registered 59 million total video starts for the day, said network officials.
Most Watched Cable Shows For Nov. 8 (by hour)
Show NetworkTime PeriodTotal Viewers
America's Election HQ Fox News 12 am -1 am 15.4 million
America's Election HQ Fox News 11 pm-12 am 14.5 million
Election Night In America CNN 10 pm-11 pm 14.0 million
Eleciton Night In America CNN 11 pm-12am 13.9 million
Election Night In America CNN 9 pm-10 pm 13.7 million
America's Election HQ Fox News 10 pm-11 pm 13.0 million
America's Election HQ Fox News 9 pm-10 pm 12.2 million
Election Night In America CNN 8 pm-9 pm 11.9 million
Election Night In America CNN 12 am-1 am 11.7 million
Source: Nielsen
