MSNBC scored its biggest night of the year with 2.92 million primetime viewers (8-11 p.m. ET), topping cable news as Democrats swept Virginia and New Jersey governor races, flipped New York City’s mayoralty, and passed California’s redistricting proposition.
Fox News trailed closely with 2.76 million, followed by CNN at 1.68 million (Nielsen Fast Nationals, prelims, excluding OOH & big-data).
In the broader 4 p.m.–midnight block, Fox News led with 2.67 million, ahead of MSNBC’s 2.14 million and CNN’s 1.21 million.
For total-day, Fox News averaged 1.97 million viewers (236k in A25-54, demo leader), followed by MSNBC at 1.28 million and CNN at 748k.
On YouTube, Fox News dominated with 10.16 million video views, edging MSNBC’s 9.44 million; CNN had 5.84 million.Broadcasters’ numbers are pending but expected at 3–4 million each for ABC, NBC, and CBS—solid for an off-year but well below 2024 presidential levels.