As people around the world watched the results of the US Presidential Election unfold, millions were glued to streams and digital platforms.
Stream Charts, a database of live statistics and analytics, notify Overall streaming data totaled 84 million hours watched, the lion’s share of which — 80.6% — was turned on. YouTube. The online video platform Rumble, often popular with conservatives, came in second with 13.1%. the fox News was the most popular live broadcast on YouTube, setting a record 1.14 million viewers, according to Stream Charts. NBC News trailed Fox with 616,900 top viewers, according to the streaming report.
On the other hand, Nielsen notify Traditional broadcast and cable audiences attracted 42 million viewers across 18 television networks, with that number tuning in between 7:00 PM and 11:00 PM. That was down more than 25% from the 2020 election cycle, when it drew 56.9 million viewers in its prime, according to Nielsen data. Fox News primetime coverage topped all television networks including Fox News Digital with 13.6 million viewers, the company announced Wednesday. Fox’s digital platforms had record engagement, and it had its best day since 2020 in page views, media and minutes aired. The company reported that Fox News Digital secured 47.2 million live views between the afternoon and early morning hours.
Nazar Babenko, Product Manager at Streams Charts, said luck live streaming platforms appeal to viewers because they allow for back-and-forth. “It’s not just about seeing anymore; people are actively discussing and reacting in real time, reshaping the electoral discourse in the process,” Babenko said.
Even before the election, he said, political events were driving greater participation on live-streaming platforms. Political mentions on the Amazon-owned Twitch platform fluctuated in its chats along with the dynamics of the Republican and Democratic presidential campaigns. After Kamala Harris participated in a CNN town hall event, Twitch mentions increased by 39.5%. The September debate between Harris and Donald Trump drew nearly 8 million peak concurrent viewers and 17 million hours of viewing worldwide, Babenko said. This catapulted the debate feeds ahead of other popular live streaming events, among others the apple Event 2024, the professional summer event of the North American League of Legends league and the Call of Duty League 2024 playoffs.
In October, about 5,600 channels across eight platforms mentioned Donald Trump in nearly 24,000 stream titles, according to Stream Charts. Streams drove 49 million hours of content watched. Twitch, YouTube and Rumble streams had the highest frequency of Trump mentions, their analysis found.
“This evolution of political campaigning reflects a dynamic shift where young audiences—often through popular streamers or live debates—are shaping the future of democracy, right now, both in the United States and around the world,” Babenko said.
NBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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