MS NOW Sets Election Day YouTube Record
The cable network recorded 33.2 million YouTube views on November 3, outpacing CNN and Fox News on the platform.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Elections
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MS NOW recorded 33.2 million YouTube views on Election Day, its biggest-ever day on the platform. The network drew nearly twice the YouTube audience of CNN and more than double that of Fox News.
Why it matters
The figures show a large audience turning to a cable news network's YouTube channel for election coverage on a single day. Viewership of this kind is a measure of how election-night news is consumed online across the United States.
Election Day YouTube views were 33.2 million for MS NOW, 18.5 million for CNN and 16.2 million for Fox News. The extraction does not say how view counts were measured or how long viewers stayed on the streams.
The players
MS NOW
A cable news network that streams its election coverage on YouTube and held the watch parties.
CNN
A cable news network that finished second on YouTube with 18.5 million views on Election Day.
Fox News
A cable news network that recorded 16.2 million YouTube views on Election Day.
The details
MS NOW introduced two new election night offerings: the inaugural VelshiCast, which generated more than 5.4 million YouTube views, and an interactive Election Night Live Q&A that drew 1 million views and more than 6,300 comments and questions. The Q&A appeared on billboards in New York City's Times Square, and the network held watch parties in Atlanta, Georgia and Houston, Texas.
Timeline
- November 3: MS NOW records its biggest-ever YouTube day with 33.2 million views.
Political Context
The result fits a broader movement of cable news audiences moving from linear television toward YouTube livestreams. It shows election-night viewing increasingly happening on platforms rather than on traditional channels.
Readers who follow election coverage can find the same livestreams on YouTube, including the Election Night Live Q&A and VelshiCast. The extraction does not describe any change to access or cost.
The takeaway
Election-night audiences are increasingly gathering on YouTube, and interactive formats like live Q&As are drawing large engagement. Viewers who want to follow similar coverage can look for these livestreams directly on the platform.
Further reading
For more on how voters followed the results, see Elections coverage across the United States.
Live Poll
Do you trust cable news channels to cover elections fairly?
