Broadcast networks overtake cable in election night viewership ratings

Broadcast networks captured the majority of television viewership during election night coverage on November 3, 2026. The Hollywood Reporter reported that 57 percent of the primetime audience watched the midterm election returns on broadcast outlets, reversing the distribution pattern seen four years prior. Broadcast coverage drew 17.79 million viewers across NBC, ABC, CBS, Univision, Telemundo, and PBS. IMDb also carried coverage of the viewership shift. [1][2][3]

According to Nielsen ratings cited by The Hollywood Reporter, total primetime election coverage across 13 broadcast and cable outlets reached 31.21 million viewers. This figure marks an increase from the 25.43 million viewers recorded during the 2022 midterm elections. Cable outlets accounted for 43 percent of the total audience with 13.42 million viewers, which represents an exact inverse of the audience distribution recorded four years earlier. [1]

The ratings surge occurred during midterm elections in which all 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives and 35 Senate seats were contested. The Democratic Party secured majorities in both houses of Congress and in state governments across the country. As FTMQ Film & TV reported earlier, major television networks including ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, and Fox News face an antitrust investigation by the United States Department of Justice concerning White House press pool coverage practices. [3][4][5]