Election night 2024 saw its TV ratings fall sharply compared to 2020, but new data suggests that tens of millions of Americans were still tuning in … they were just watching on YouTube.
The Google-owned video platform said Thursday that more than 45 million people in the U.S. watched election-related content on Tuesday, Nov. 5. That is an enormous number, and while obviously not everyone was watching live videos in primetime, it suggests that tens of millions of people were nonetheless turning to YouTube for election-relayed information.
For comparison, Nielsen said that an average of 42.29 million viewers tuned in across 18 cable and broadcast networks from 7-11 p.m. ET. The YouTube data is not an exact comparison, but still shows a scale that is only matched by traditional TV.
When it comes to election livestreams, YouTube said that the most-watched stream was from Fox News, which peaked at more than one million concurrent viewers when Donald Trump addressed supporters that evening. Fox was followed (ranked by highest number of concurrent viewers) by streams from NBC News, LiveNOW from Fox (another Fox stream), and ABC News.
Notably, a stream hosted by the popular podcaster Patrick Bet-David rounded out the top five, and underscored the extent to which podcasters and creators have been able to break through in today’s media environment.
YouTube also, of course, also carries Fox News, MSNBC, CNN and the broadcast networks on its YouTube TV service.
YouTube also revealed the most viewed election-related videos in the U.S. in the weeks and days leading up the election, and they underscored just how much influence and reach Joe Rogan has.
The comedian and podcaster had the two most-watched election-related videos on YouTube, topped by his interview with Trump, and followed by his interview with Vice President-elect JD Vance. The number three video was a supercut of Trump working at McDonalds from the creator Dylan Anderson, who makes videos featuring wholesome stories.
The Saturday Night Live cold open featuring Vice President Kamala Harris was the fourth most-watched election-related video on YouTube, while the top five was rounded out by a Surrounded video from Jubilee featuring the conservative podcast host Ben Shapiro surrounded by 25 Harris voters.
The data clarifies the degree to which traditional media has lost influence in the last four years, though the viewership of streams from Fox, NBC and ABC suggest that there is still an audience for their work on platforms other than traditional pay-TV platforms.
Still, the surprising success of Bet-David’s PBD Podcast and the strong showing from Rogan also suggest that a new power center may be emerging, one more fragmented, but where strong voices can find a significant audience.
Johnny Harris, Brian Tyler Cohen, Megyn Kelly, and Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy also received significant viewership on election-related content, all outside the traditional news ecosystem.
