Election Coverage Ratings: Fox News Wins Landslide Cable Victory, ABC and NBC Split Broadcast

Fox News won a landslide cable victory during primetime coverage of Tuesday’s midterm election, while ABC and NBC split a win for broadcast television, according to Nielsen’s live plus same-day figures.

Co-anchored by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, Fox News’ election night drew a total viewership of 7.4 million on average and 1.9 million viewers in the key cable 25-54 demographic during 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., scoring a win over competitors MSNBC and CNN.

MSNBC’s “Decision 2022” election coverage, led by Rachel Maddow, Nicolle Wallace and Joy Reid, came second in total viewers by drawing in 3.2 million total viewers — less than half of Fox News’ total viewership — and scored last place in viewers in the demo with 782,000 viewers.

While CNN trailed behind MSNBC in terms of total viewers with 2.6 total viewers, the network’s coverage, which was headlined by veteran duo Jake Tapper and Anderson Cooper, shot CNN to second place in the demo with 1.1 million viewers in the demo on average. The network also saw a 24% increase in total viewers and a 17% increase in the demo since the last Democratic midterm in 2014.

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In the 8 p.m. hour, Fox News came first in terms of total viewership and viewers in the demo, drawing in 7.3 million total viewers and 1.8 million viewers in the demo. MSNBC came in second in total viewers with 2.9 million viewers, compared to CNN’s 2.5 million viewers, though CNN beat MSNBC in the demo with CNN earning 960,000 viewers in the demo in contrast to MSNBC’s 736,000 viewers in the key demo.

The trend stayed strong in the 9 p.m. hour, which saw the largest total viewership for Fox News and CNN. Fox News brought in 7.8 million viewers and 2.0 million viewers in the demo on average. MSNBC continued to win over CNN in terms of total viewers, with MSNBC bringing in 3.3 million viewers and CNN drawing in 2.7 million viewers on average. In the demo, however, CNN prevailed over MSNBC with 1.1 million viewers in the demo compared to MSNBC’s 798,000 viewers in the key demo.

The same can be said for 10 p.m., as Fox News earned a total viewership of 7.2 million viewers and won the demo with 1.9 million viewers in the demo. MSNBC kept a steady lead on CNN for total viewers, with MSNBC receiving 3.4 million viewers on average, as compared to CNN’s 2.6 million viewers. CNN still took second in the demo, though, by bringing in 1.1 million viewers in the demo as compared to MSNBC’s 811,000 viewers in the demo.

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On the broadcast side, ABC News’ “Midterm Election: Your Voice, Your Vote 2022” took the top spot in primetime in terms of total viewers with 3.3 million viewers on average, but came second place in the key broadcast 18-49 demographic with ratings score of 0.5 in the demo.

Lester Holt, Savannah Guthrie, Chuck Todd and Andrea Mitchell led NBC’s Election coverage in a win in the demo, scoring 0.6 in the demo, and drawing in a total viewership of 3.1 million on average — just 6% less than ABC’s total.

CBS News’ coverage, anchored by Norah O’Donnell, trailed in last place among the major broadcast networks with a total viewership of 2.6 million on average and a ratings score of 0.4 in the demo.

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