It’s been a busy news cycle following the 2024 presidential election, a time of year when news organizations typically bank on high viewership due to public interest in election results and reactions. However, some networks are seeing their post-election audience quickly dissipate.
According to Nielsen ratings, MSNBC had a strong election night, drawing 6 million viewers. But in the days following the election, its viewership dropped significantly, falling to less than 1 million.
The network lost more than half of its audience compared to its October viewership, marking the lowest-rated non-holiday night of the year on Friday, Nov. 8.
MSNBC experienced a similar loss in viewership following the 2016 election after Donald Trump’s victory. However, the network rebounded, going on to have its four most-watched years in history from 2017 to 2020, as many news outlets capitalized on Trump-heavy coverage, generating record revenue.
CNN also saw a significant decline in viewership after last week’s election. The network attracted 5.1 million viewers during its election coverage, but in the days following the election, CNN’s viewership dropped to 611,000, a 36% decline compared to its October average of 953,000.
Fox News saw a different trend. While MSNBC and CNN were losing viewers, Fox News gained.
On election night, Fox attracted more than 10 million viewers, and in the days that followed, the network’s total viewership averaged over 4 million, a 34% increase from its October average. This was also a 58% jump compared to its year-to-date viewership for 2024.
While this trend reflects left-leaning cable networks losing viewers after Trump’s victory and right-leaning outlets gaining, there is one left-leaning talk show that defied the trend. “The View” saw a boost in viewership following Trump’s win, posting its best week of ratings in more than three years.
The ABC daytime talk show averaged 3 million viewers during the week of Nov. 5, making it the top-rated daytime talk show. The day after the election, “The View” had its most-watched episode in over a decade, drawing 4.5 million viewers, its highest since Barbara Walters’ farewell episode in 2014.
A total of 42 million people watched the election unfold across 18 TV networks, according to Nielsen. However, the viewership was down compared to the 2020 election, when 57 million tuned in, marking a 25% decrease in viewership this cycle.
Some in the media suggest that the decline in viewership on such a major news night can be attributed to a lack of trust in traditional media.
“The path of traditional media’s institutional collapse is really two intertwining stories: a breakdown of its business model exacerbated by a breakdown of influence, the extent of which became clear this campaign cycle,” Carlo Versano of Newsweek said. “Behind it all lies a growing sense among Americans that the media cannot be trusted to tell them the news they believe is fair.”
