YouTube dominated Election Day as viewers devoured 84 million hours of presidential news
As people around the world watched the results of the US Presidential Election unfold, millions were glued to streaming and digital platforms.
Stream graph, database of live streaming statistics and analytics, reported total streaming data is 84 million total hours watched, with the largest share—80.6%—on YouTube. Online video platform Rumble, often chosen by conservatives, came in second place with 13.1%. fox News is the most popular live broadcast on YouTube, setting a record peak of 1.14 million viewers, according to Stream Charts data. NBC News ranked behind Fox with the highest number of viewers at 616,900, according to streaming reports.
On the other hand, Nielsen reported that traditional broadcast and cable viewers attracted 42 million viewers spread across 18 television networks, with that number tuning in from about 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. According to Nielsen data, that number is down more than 25% compared to the 2020 election cycle, which attracted 56.9 million prime-time viewers. Fox News’ prime-time coverage includes Fox News Digital, which ranked higher than all television networks with 13.6 million viewers, the company announced Wednesday. Fox’s digital platforms saw record levels of engagement, marking the best day since 2020 for page views, media and minutes spent. The company reported that Fox News Digital achieved 47.2 million live stream views from evening to early morning.
said Nazar Babenko, product manager at Streams Charts Luck Live streaming platforms attract viewers because they allow back-and-forth viewing. “It’s not just about watching anymore; people are actively debating and reacting in real time, reshaping election discourse in the process,” Babenko said.
Even before the election, he said, political events were driving more engagement on live streaming platforms. The number of political mentions on Amazon-owned livestreaming platform Twitch in its chats ebbs and flows with the momentum of the Republican and Democratic presidential campaigns. After Kamala Harris participated in a town hall event on CNN, her mentions on Twitch increased by 39.5%. Babenko said the September debate between Harris and Donald Trump saw a peak of nearly 8 million concurrent viewers and 17 million hours watched globally. That has fueled debates that have preceded other popular livestream events, including Apple Event 2024, the North American professional League of Legends summer event and the Call of Duty League 2024 playoffs.
In October, about 5,600 channels across eight platforms mentioned Donald Trump in nearly 24,000 streaming titles, according to Stream Charts. These streams drove 49 million hours of content viewed. Their analysis found that streams on Twitch, YouTube, and Rumble had the highest frequency of mentions of Trump.
“This evolution in political campaigning reflects a changing dynamic in which audiences are younger—often reached through popular livestreamers or debates,” Babenko said. directly—is shaping the future of democracy, right now, both in the United States and around the world.”
NBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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