Fox News narrowly won Election Night prime-time cable news ratings with 2.924 million viewers, edging out MSNBC by just 41,000 viewers (2.883 million) in finalized Nielsen Big Data + Panels data seen by The Desk, while CNN trailed in third with 1.914 million.
One day after polls closed in New York City, California, New Jersey and Virginia, MSNBC had declared itself the winner based on preliminary Nielsen ratings, but the initial race was realistically too close to call between MSNBC and Fox News.
Finalized Big Data + Panels data — which supersedes preliminary figures and is typically higher — comes from over 75 million Internet-connected devices like smart TVs and set-top boxes for a comprehensive audience view.
Due to the scale of devices and varying measurement methods across smart TVs, set-top boxes and apps, Nielsen delivers these finalized ratings to clients about two to three days after broadcast.