Midterms TV Ratings: NBC News, ABC News Coverage Lead in Early Numbers

NBC News and ABC News soared ahead in election coverage ratings as a blue wave formed that saw Democrats take control of the House and the Senate. NBC News brought in an average of 6.52 million total viewers during primetime, according to fast national ratings cable and broadcast figures, with ABC News taking a second place with 4.91 million viewers. CBS News was the least-watched network among total viewers for both broadcast and cable news with 2.63 million viewers. The race was a bit closer among the cable news networks, with CNN leading a tight race with 3.93 million viewers, while MS NOW came in with 3.92 million viewers and Fox News with 3.88 million viewers. It should be noted that these numbers are early figures, and the rankings might shift as final numbers trickle in. This story will be updated as numbers come in. NBC News also led the pack in both the 25-54 demo as well as the 18-49 demo with 2.8 million viewers and 2.35 million viewers, respectively. ABC News came in second place in both demos with 1.61 million viewers in the 25-54 demo and 1.32 million viewers in the 18-49 demo, while CNN came in third place 1.44 million viewers and 1.18 million viewers, respectively. Fox News scored 741,000 viewers in the 25-54 demo, while CBS News brought in 715,000 demo viewers and MS Now averaged 701,000 demo viewers. The remaining rankings were similar in the 18-49 demo, though CBS News pushed past Fox News with 559,000 demo viewers, while Fox News scored 540,000 viewers and MS NOW scored 520,000 viewers. Tuesday’s midterm brought notable wins for the Democratic party, flipping Senate seats in Iowa, Kansas, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas. More to come …