With expectations that the 2020 presidential race would not be decided on election night, fewer people tuned in to coverage of the runoff than in 2016.
Despite a record voter turnout, prime-time coverage on Tuesday night dropped 20% from 2016, with 56.9 million viewers tuning in across 21 networks, according to Nielsen.
In 2016, 71.4 million people watched across 13 networks, which was an uptick from the 66.8 million viewers who tuned in to the 2012 election night. The most watched election night was Barack Obama’s 2008 win, which was watched by 71.5 million people.