Election night in 2024 saw it TV ratings plummet compared to 2020, but new data suggests tens of millions of Americans were still logging in… they were just watching YouTube.

The Google-owned video platform said Thursday that more than 45 million people in the U.S. watched election-related content on Tuesday, Nov. 5. That’s a huge number, and while obviously not everyone was watching live video during primetime, it suggests that tens of millions of people were still turning to YouTube for election information.

For comparison, Nielsen said an average of 42.29 million viewers tuned in across 18 cable and broadcast networks between 7-11 p.m. ET. YouTube’s data isn’t an exact comparison, but it still shows a scale that’s matched only by traditional TV.

When it comes to live election broadcasts, YouTube said the most-watched stream was from Fox News, which peaked at more than a million concurrent viewers when Donald Trump addressed supporters that evening. Fox was followed (ranked by most concurrent viewers) by feeds from NBC News, Fox’s LiveNOW (another Fox feed), and ABC News.

In particular, a stream hosted by popular podcaster Patrick Bet-David rounded out the top five and highlighted the extent to which podcasters and creators have been able to penetrate today’s media landscape.

YouTube also streams Fox News, MSNBC, CNN and the broadcast networks on its YouTube TV service.

YouTube also revealed the most-watched election-related videos in the US in the weeks and days leading up to the election, and highlighted just how much influence and reach Joe Rogan has.

The comedian and podcaster had the two most viewed election-related videos on YouTube, led by his interview with Trump, followed by his interview with Vice President-elect JD Vance. Clip number three was a supercut of Trump working at McDonalds from creator Dylan Anderson, who makes wholesome story videos.

The Saturday Night Live cold open with Vice President Kamala Harris was the fourth most viewed election-related video on YouTube, while the top five was rounded out by a Surrounded video from Jubilee with conservative podcast host Ben Shapiro surrounded by 25 Harris voters.

The data clarify the degree to which traditional media has lost its influence over the past four years, though viewership for streams from Fox, NBC, and ABC suggests there’s still an audience for their work on platforms other than traditional pay-TV platforms.

Still, Bet-David’s surprising success PBD podcast and the strong performance from Rogan also suggests that a new center of power may be emerging, one that is more fragmented but where strong voices can find a meaningful audience.

Johnny Harris, Brian Tyler Cohen, Megyn Kelly and Alex Cooper Call him dad it also received a significant audience for election-related content, all outside the traditional news ecosystem.