Stream Charts, a database of live streaming statistics and analytics, reported a total of 84 million hours of streaming data, with the lion's share – 80.6% – taking place on YouTube. The online video platform Rumble, often popular with conservatives, came in second with 13.1%. According to data from Stream Charts, Fox News was the most popular live broadcast on YouTube, peaking at 1.14 million viewers. According to the streaming report, NBC News trailed Fox with 616,900 peak viewers.

On the other hand, Nielsen reported that traditional broadcast and cable viewers drew 42 million viewers across 18 television networks, with that number tuning in from about 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. That was down more than 25% from the 2020 election cycle, which drew 56.9 million prime-time viewers, according to Nielsen data. Fox News' primetime coverage, including Fox News Digital, topped all television networks with 13.6 million viewers, the company announced Wednesday. Fox's digital platforms saw record engagement, marking their best day since 2020 in page views, media and minutes spent. The company reported that Fox News Digital received 47.2 million livestream views between the evening and early morning hours.

Nazar Babenko, product manager at Streams Charts, said Assets Live streaming platforms appeal to viewers because they allow for back and forth. “It’s not just about watching anymore; “People are actively debating and reacting in real time, changing the electoral discourse in the process,” Babenko said.

Even before the election, political events were driving greater engagement on live streaming platforms, he said. The number of political mentions in chats on Amazon-owned live streaming platform Twitch rose and fell with the momentum of the Republican and Democratic presidential campaigns. After Kamala Harris attended a town hall event on CNN, her mentions on Twitch increased by 39.5%. The September debate between Harris and Donald Trump drew nearly 8 million concurrent viewers and 17 million hours worldwide at its peak, Babenko said. This catapulted streams of the debate ahead of other popular live streaming events, including Apple Event 2024, North America's professional League of Legends league summer event and the Call of Duty League 2024 playoffs.

According to Stream Charts, around 5,600 channels across eight platforms mentioned Donald Trump in nearly 24,000 stream titles in October. The streams resulted in 49 million hours of content viewed. According to their analysis, streams on Twitch, YouTube and Rumble had the highest frequency of Trump mentions.

“This development in the political campaign reflects a dynamic shift in which younger audiences – often reached through popular streamers or live debates – are shaping the future of democracy 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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