Nearly 27.1 million people watched primetime news coverage of the 2026 midterm elections across the six largest TV networks, a 22% increase from the midterms four years ago. Viewership rose despite the overall share of people watching broadcast and cable TV falling by more than one-third over that period. The numbers are likely to be updated by Nielsen on Thursday after the company changed its ratings methodology, adding measurement of out-of-home viewers. Close races in states such as South Carolina, Ohio, Texas and Michigan likely contributed to audience turnout, with Democrats taking control of both the House and the Senate.
NBC was the most-watched channel with 6.8 million viewers, followed by ABC with 5.1 million. CNN and MS NOW were almost even at about 4.16 million each, while Fox News had 4.04 million viewers, about 45% fewer than four years ago when it led all networks with an audience of more than 7.4 million. An additional 323,000 people watched Fox Business Network. CBS came in sixth with 2.8 million.
President Donald Trump criticized Fox News on Truth Social, lambasting the channel for giving airtime to Democrats. Fox's coverage had a subdued tone discussing issues like gas prices and affordability. MS NOW took a more exuberant tone, with hosts shedding tears of joy over Keisha Lance Bottoms, the first Black woman elected governor of a US state in Georgia. With more TV viewing shifting online, election coverage moved to platforms like YouTube, where NBC had the most-watched election livestream with 29 million views across multiple platforms.
Source: Bloomberg Markets · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing