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News is Changing

News is Changing

November 07, 2024

News Will Forever be Changed

As I was watching on election night, I couldn’t help but realize the amount of viewers across YouTube and Twitch. At one point during the night there were almost 2 million people watching streamers cover the election on Twitch, and the same could be said about YouTube. It’s always been something that I’ve known, but after last night there’s no doubt in my mind that the way we consume and get news will forever be changed.

Viewership Breakdown

Compared to 2020, this election’s viewership was down by 25%. In my mind this was definitely going to happen given how many people were going to YouTube, Twitter, and Twitch for election results. Our viewing habits are changing quickly, I’m not surprised that traditional election viewership dropped—we’re finding new places to keep track of exit polls and ballot results.

@Streamscharts on Twitter

Viewers Turned to YouTube

When I looked through the live tab on YouTube, one thing was glaringly obvious: just as many people were watching creators’ coverage (like Tucker Carlson, Brian Tyler Cohen, and Ludwig) as were tuning into traditional media channels (CNN, Fox, MSNBC) last night.

Viewers Turned to Twitch

Next, I went over to Twitch to see who was covering the election. The top three streams in the 'Just Chatting' category were Hasan’s election coverage (peaking at 300K viewers), Kai’s Mafiathon (210K viewers), and Asmongold’s election coverage (170K viewers). Reading the chat, I noticed a common trend: when major events like an election are happening, people turn to their communities to react and converse in real time.

This was pretty early on in the night, Hasan’s stream actually peaked at 300K

Viewers Turned to TikTok

When I scrolled through my TikTok feed, I noticed that streams fell into one of three categories. The first category was traditional news channels live-streaming their TV feeds. Not every major news outlet chose to feature a livestream—I only found streams for ABC, NBC, and MSNBC (no Fox or CNN). Some of these livestreams had over 60K viewers, the most of any election live streams. I think that next election cycle, all the news networks will be live-streaming their feeds.

Next were commentary channels that were following the election. Some of these channels had around 10K viewers and took a more educational approach, explaining what was happening to their audience. The last category was simply people recording their computer screens showing the electoral votes. I’m not sure how much community mattered here—the chat on TikTok was garbage.

The Big Takeaway

TV ratings for the election were low this year—about 25% lower than the previous election. Election coverage is spreading across streaming services and social platforms, with viewers turning to independent news coverage on YouTube and Twitch more than ever before. Things are changing quickly; I’d guess this trend will continue in the years leading up to the next election in 2028.