Election Night Coverage – Historical Ratings: 1960-2004

Nielsen Wire — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 16:43:56 +0000

Television viewing on Election Night has changed dramatically over the years, considering the expansion of technology and the number of different channels available to the average home. In 1960 for example, in the close race between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon, most U.S. homes had only a few channels available so the Election Night returns captured virtually all the audience with more than 65% of all homes tuning in. Now with more than 40 channels available to the average home, the percentage of homes watching political coverage (as seen in the combined rating column) has gone down.

Numbers for coverage of Barack Obama and John McCain’s race for the White House will be released Nov. 5.

YEAR	NETWORKS	COMBINED RATING	COMBINED HOUSEHOLDS
2004	ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOXNC, MSNBC	34.5	37,856,000
2000	ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN, FOXNC, MSNBC	40.2	40,914,000
1996	ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN	25.8	24,940,000
1992	ABC, CBS, NBC	39.8	36,900,000
1988	ABC, CBS, NBC	25.9	23,414,000
1984	ABC, CBS, NBC	35.9	30,479,000
1980	ABC, CBS, NBC	46.4	37,074,000
1976	ABC, CBS, NBC	51.6	36,739,000
1972	ABC, CBS, NBC	45.4	29,419,000
1968	ABC, CBS, NBC	58.5	34,076,000
1964	ABC, CBS, NBC	55.7	29,311,250
1960	ABC, CBS, NBC	65.7	29,796,000
Source: © 2008 NIELSEN MEDIA RESEARCH; Nielsen Tunes into Politics 1992, NTI Television Audience, 1960 and 1964 NTI Pocketpieces

Nielsen Wire » John F. Kennedy

Election Night Coverage – Historical Ratings: 1960-2004