Election Coverage Draws 71 Million U.S. Viewers

NEW YORK: An estimated 71 million U.S. viewers tuned in to watch coverage of the 2016 presidential election during prime time on Tuesday, November 8, according to figures from Nielsen.

In the U.S., 13 networks aired live coverage from approximately 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.

The 71 million is just short of the record 71.5 million people who watched Barack Obama win his first term in the 2008 election. (66.8 million people tuned in during the 2012 election.)

NBC led viewership for the broadcast networks, with 11.15 million viewers. ABC had 9.24 million, CBS had 8.09 million and FOX had 4.2 million. Of the cable nets, CNN drew 13.26 million viewers. Fox News Channel had 12.11 million viewers and MSNBC had 5.95 million.