Nielsen: 2026 Midterm Election TV, Streaming Viewership Up 23% at 31 Million

With Midterms Coverage, Americans Were Watching

Americans tuned back in for the 2026 midterms, but not like they did even years ago. Nielsen says about 31 million people watched election-night coverage across 13 TV news releases in primetime, reports Axios , up 23% from 2022 but still 14% of 2018's mark. NBC News led the...

TV audience for 2026 midterms surges to 31 million

Nielsen: 2026 Midterm Election TV, Streaming Viewership Up 23% at 31 Million

More than 31.2 million people watched, live-streamed 2026 midterm election coverage on Nov. 3 across broadcast, cable and streaming channels, according to new Nielsen data. The tally, which included 21.6 million households, was up 22.8% from 25.4 million viewers for the 2022 midterm elections — but down more than 15% from the record-setting 2018 midterms, … Continue reading "Nielsen: 2026 Midterm Election TV, Streaming Viewership Up 23% at 31 Mi…

Nielsen: ~31.2M people watched midterm primetime coverage across 13 TV networks; NBC News led with 6.74M, ahead of ABC News with 5.19M and Fox News with 4.32M (Brian Steinberg/Variety)

Brian Steinberg / Variety: Nielsen: ~31.2M people watched midterm primetime coverage across 13 TV networks; NBC News led with 6.74M, ahead of ABC News with 5.19M and Fox News with 4.32M  —  And the real winner of the U.S. 2026 midterms is — Steve Kornacki?  —  More viewers of traditional TV elected to watch NBC News coverage …