While network ratings for Election Night declined significantly compared to 2020, YouTube was the go-to spot for live election news for millions of people.
Here are the key stats: Nearly 84 million hours of live election content was streamed on Tuesday, according to Streamcharts, a Ukraine-based streaming data company. And YouTube accounted for the vast majority of those hours, with 80.6%, or 60.7 million hours, of those hours being watched on the Google-owned streaming platform. (The U.S. accounted for most [72.3%] of those 84 million hours streamed overall.)
“Peak viewership for political streams on Election Day hit over 9.14 million viewers, with the average number of viewers throughout the day approaching 3.5 million [average],” Streamcharts said in a report accompanying its data. “Notably, audience engagement spiked closer to the end of voting and when the results were finally announced.”
Those stats stand out when considering viewership on traditional channels took a big hit this year. Nielsen reported 42.3 million people watched Donald Trump v. Kamala Harris coverage across 18 networks during prime time on Tuesday — down 25% from last election, when 56.9 million people watched election coverage during that time.
It’s a bit of an apples-to-oranges comparison, but it’s still notable, considering YouTube has become such a force. The site is a destination for viewers looking for videos on a myriad of subjects, from kids content to football news to 2024 election coverage. And a recent Pew survey found nearly one-third (32%) of Americans regularly get their news from YouTube, up from 23% in 2020.
YouTube isn’t just being streamed on phones and computers, either. The platform accounted for 10.6% of all TV streaming in September, according to Nielsen’s Gauge report. Netflix accounted for 7.9% of TV streaming, and Prime Video, the third-ranked platform, accounted for 3.6%, according to Nielsen.
Aside from YouTube, Rumble was the second-biggest destination for live election news, accounting for 13.1% of all live streams. The chart below, from Streamcharts, shows conservative commentators Dan Bongino and Steven Crowder, who are both on Rumble, had the third and fourth most-streamed shows on Election Day; Fox News and NBC News’ YouTube channels grabbed the top two spots.
YouTube’s election success comes after it reported sales of $50 billion over the past year and $8.9 billion during its most recent quarter.
The post YouTube Drives 67 Million Hours of Election Viewership as Network Ratings Plunge appeared first on TheWrap.
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