MSNBC Tops CNN On A Presidential Election Night For First Time In Network History

November 07, 2024

During MSNBC’s “Decision 2024” primetime special coverage of the 2024 presidential election, more viewers turned to MSNBC over CNN on a presidential election night for the first time in network history, according to Nielsen National Ratings. 

More than 6 million viewers tuned into MSNBC in primetime (8 to 11 p.m. ET) compared to CNN’s 5.1 million viewers. MSNBC ranked #2 across all of television in primetime, marking the network’s highest ranking ever on a presidential election night. 

It was also the first time more viewers turned to MSNBC over CNN on the day of a presidential election in total day viewership. MSNBC drew more viewers than CNN in the morning, dayside, evening, and late night, topping CNN every hour from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Tuesday. It was CNN’s smallest election night audience in nearly 30 years and the network lost half of its audience compared to Election Night 2020 (9.6 million). 

Election Night 2024 was also MSNBC’s most-watched night of the year among both demos.

Across Digital, MSNBC saw record daily page views on Election Day, surpassing the previous record on the day after the 2020 election. Additionally, MSNBC on YouTube had its strongest day on record with 30 million video views. 

Additionally, MSNBC’s “Kornacki Cam” on YouTube drove more than nine million video starts, the largest livestream on record for MSNBC YouTube.

On TikTok, MSNBC has added nearly 150,000 new followers week-to-date across election week, with election content from yesterday through this morning driving more than 70 million total views and marking one of the largest days for the network on TikTok on record. 

Source: Nielsen, National Ratings, Panel Only.