Approximately 71.5 million people, on average, watched the 2016 presidential election returns come in during prime-time hours last night, with some channels, like Fox News, seeing a surge in viewership later in the night, as Donald Trump became the favorite to win. The 71.5 million figure does not include anyone streaming the returns online, nor people watching C-SPAN, PBS or a handful of other small channels.
For comparison, the 2012 election drew an average of 66.8 million viewers, while 2008 saw 71.5 million people tune in. – READ MORE