根据尼尔森公司的初步数据，近2710万人通过六大主要电视网观看了2026年中期选举的黄金时段新闻报道。
Nearly 27.1 million people watched primetime news coverage of the 2026 midterm elections across the six largest TV networks, according to preliminary Nielsen data.
这一数字比四年前的中期选举增长了22%。尽管同期广播和有线电视的整体收视份额下降了三分之一以上，但观看人数仍然上升。这些数字预计将在周四由尼尔森公司更新。过去四年里，该公司改变了收视率统计方法，例如增加了户外观众的测量。
That was a 22% increase from the midterms four years ago. Viewership rose even though the overall share of people watching broadcast and cable TV has fallen by more than one-third over that period. The numbers are likely to be updated by Nielsen on Thursday. The company has changed its ratings methodology over the past four years, adding measurement of out-of-home viewers, for example.
南卡罗来纳州、俄亥俄州、得克萨斯州和密歇根州等州的激烈竞争引发的关注，可能促成了观众的踊跃收看。民主党最终控制了众议院和参议院两院。
The excitement surrounding close races in states such as South Carolina, Ohio, Texas and Michigan likely contributed to audience turnout. The Democrats ended up taking control of both the House and the Senate.
“全国各地都有竞争，这让电视网能够不断从一个地方切换到另一个地方，”新闻非营利组织波因特学院的资深媒体撰稿人汤姆·琼斯说。
“There were races all over the country, so that allowed the networks to keep moving from place to place,” said Tom Jones, senior media writer for news nonprofit the Poynter Institute.
更复杂的选举地图，让现场分析师能够深入实时的县级结果，并将其与过去的选举进行对比，这可能也增加了吸引力。
More sophisticated election maps, which allowed on-air analysts to drill down into real time results on a county-by-county basis and compare them with past elections, may have also contributed to the attraction.
“在我看来，大屏幕地图的运用比以往任何时候都更令人印象深刻，”琼斯说。
“The use of the big board maps, I thought has been more impressive than I’ve ever seen,” Jones said.
全国广播公司（NBC）以680万观众位居最受关注频道首位，美国广播公司（ABC）以510万观众紧随其后。有线电视新闻网（CNN）和MS NOW几乎持平，均约为416万观众。
NBC was the most-watched channel at 6.8 million viewers with ABC following with 5.1 million. CNN and MS NOW were almost even with about 4.16 million each.
福克斯新闻频道以404万观众排名第五，比四年前领跑所有电视网、观众超过740万时减少了约45%。哥伦比亚广播公司（CBS）以280万观众排名第六。
Fox News finished in fifth place with 4.04 million viewers, about 45% fewer than four years ago when it led all networks with an audience of more than 7.4 million. CBS came in sixth with 2.8 million.
总统唐纳德·特朗普在选举之夜在“真相社交”上发帖，专门批评福克斯新闻频道。他提到该网近期收视率下滑，并抨击该频道给前纽约市长比尔·德布拉西奥等民主党人提供播出时间。
President Donald Trump singled out Fox News for criticism in posts on Truth Social on election night. He brought up the network’s recent ratings decline and lambasted the channel for giving airtime to Democrats like former New York Mayor Bill de Blasio.
他在一条帖子中写道：“福克斯新闻对这些失利负有责任，因为它持续且一贯地邀请‘民主党’（Dumocrat）反对派上节目，甚至更糟。”
“FoxNews bears responsibility for these losses by constantly and consistently putting on the Dumocrat opposition, and worse,” he wrote in one post.
当晚晚些时候，特朗普通过电话连线福克斯新闻，表示如果他出现在选票上，会有更多支持者出来投票。他补充说，他认为“民主党做得很好”。福克斯新闻的报道基调较为低调，主持人讨论汽油价格、负担能力以及伊朗战争等议题可能如何促使选民倾向民主党。一度，直播切到记者麦迪逊·奥尔沃斯，她位于俄亥俄州参议员候选人乔恩·休斯特和州长候选人维韦克·拉马斯瓦米的共和党竞选观礼派对现场，两人最终均败选。
Trump called into Fox News later in the evening and said that if he had been on the ballot, more of his supporters would’ve turned out to vote. He added that he thought “the Democrats did a good job.”Fox’s coverage had a subdued air as its hosts discussed how issues like gas prices, affordability and the war in Iran may have pushed voters to lean Democrat. At one point, the broadcast cut to correspondent Madison Alworth at a Republican watch party for Ohio Senate candidate Jon Husted and gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, both of whom eventually lost their races.
“去洗手间时，那里有女性在为胜利祈祷，”她说。“所以我会说，这里的气氛并不乐观。”微软全国广播公司（MSNBC）的报道基调则更为高昂，主持人开玩笑说他们吃了多少糖果来熬夜保持精力，主播西蒙·桑德斯-汤森德因民主党人凯莎·兰斯·博托姆斯在佐治亚州获选，成为美国首位当选州长的黑人女性而喜极而泣。
“I went to the restroom and there were women praying in there for victory,” she said. “So I would say the energy here is not optimistic.”MS NOW took a more exuberant tone in its coverage, with hosts joking about how much candy they’d consumed to stay energetic during the night and anchor Symone Sanders-Townsend shedding tears of joy over Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms, who became the first Black woman elected governor of a US state after she won in Georgia.
随着整体电视收看习惯转向线上，选举报道也延伸至YouTube等平台。在某些情况下，前网络电视主播如查克·托德、梅根·凯利和吉姆·阿科斯塔主持了网络节目。C-SPAN在其姊妹频道同步直播了多位知名YouTube创作者的直播。
With more overall TV watching shifting online, election coverage has moved to platforms like YouTube. In some cases former network anchors like Chuck Todd, Megyn Kelly and Jim Acosta hosted online shows. C-Span simulcasted livestreams of several notable YouTube creators on its sister channels.
全国广播公司（NBC）全程安排摄像机跟拍分析师史蒂夫·科纳基，在常规广播的片段间隙直播他对各场竞选的看法。该网络称，这是收看人数最多的选举直播，在多个平台上累计获得2900万次观看。
NBC had a camera full time on analyst Steve Kornacki, streaming his thoughts on races between segments on the regular broadcast. The network said it was the most-watched election livestream with 29 million views across multiple platforms.