Kornacki Cam draws record midterms stream, lifts NBC to ratings win

By Priya Raman

NBC News said its chief data analyst Steve Kornacki’s “Kornacki Cam” ranked as the top election livestream on YouTube and drew a record 29 million views across platforms during the midterms. The program’s online coverage ran for 10½ continuous hours.

Early Nielsen data put NBC at 6.5 million prime-time viewers, ahead of ABC and the cable networks. If its lead held, NBC would post its first No. 1 midterm-election finish in 24 years. Final figures raised the network’s average to 6.7 million:

• NBC: 6.7 million viewers
• ABC: 5.2 million
• Fox: 4.31 million
• CNN: 4.1 million
• MS NOW: 3.7 million
• CBS: 2.7 million

What does the Kornacki Cam change for media strategy?

For media organizations, the practical change is distribution: one recognized analyst can anchor both a long-running digital feed and a mass television audience. NBC News wove Kornacki’s online coverage into the election broadcast and placed him on its Rockefeller Plaza set for the first time.

NBC News reported that the YouTube livestream registered 6.1 million views and more than 300,000 peak concurrent viewers between 8:30 and 11:30 p.m. Eastern. The 29 million total covered all platforms, while the YouTube figures measured the livestream itself.

The L.A. Times described a broader move toward streaming raw voting data during election coverage. Alongside the Kornacki Cam, CNN used its Sightline tool to present the counting process behind network calls.

Fox loses ground against 2022

Nielsen’s final ranking listed Fox at 4.31 million viewers. Simulcasting Fox News coverage on Fox Business Network raised the combined average to 4.7 million, still well below the roughly 8 million the two networks drew during midterm coverage in 2022.

The L.A. Times said ardent supporters of President Trump likely tuned out after a rough night for Republicans. The decline came one day after Fox Corp. Executive Chairman Rupert Murdoch told Wall Street analysts that the network was experiencing “viewer fatigue” and watching less.

The L.A. Times also linked the drop to a precipitous decline in Trump’s approval ratings, which it said led to the Democratic rout that recaptured the House and Senate. Every other major network rose from its 2022 coverage, while NBC posted the largest gain at 116%.

From MSNBC to NBC

The L.A. Times traced Kornacki’s following to his years at MSNBC, where his no-frills, drill-down into voting data built a strong audience. MSNBC became MS NOW last year, ahead of an MS NOW spinoff this year into a new company, Versant.

The spinoff split MSNBC from NBC News, forcing nearly all employees to choose between the progressive-leaning cable channel and the broadcast network. Kornacki chose NBC, where he also provides data analysis for the sports division.

NewsNation leads the calls

The L.A. Times reported that Nexstar-owned NewsNation averaged 232,000 viewers for its midterm coverage, far below the major broadcast networks. Yet it beat the major broadcasters to call Democratic control of the House and Senate.

Decision Desk HQ, the upstart company that provides voting data to media outlets and corporations, made the calls. Among NewsNation’s early calls were:

• The House for Democrats at 9:09 p.m., nearly one hour before NBC.
• The Senate majority for Democrats at 11:21 p.m., two minutes before NBC.
• The Democratic Senate wins of James Talarico of Texas, Annie Andrews of South Carolina and Adam Hamilton of Kansas.

Caution after 2000

The L.A. Times noted that major networks use the Associated Press and their own decision desks to make election calls. After networks called Florida for George W. Bush in the 2000 presidential election and then withdrew that call, they became far less aggressive about racing to proclaim a winner.

NBC’s 116% gain sets a concrete benchmark for the next election cycle: rivals will need both a durable digital audience and fast, credible calls to match its combined reach and performance.