• by Wayne Friedman , November 9, 2016

CNN claimed its best election night among all TV networks in prime time -- as well as recording its best results in cable TV news history -- with 13.3 million viewers tuning into its prime-time coverage.

CNN’s “Election Night in America” coverage between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. pulled in 13.3 million viewers, per Nielsen. Fox News Channel was next at 12.1 million, followed by NBC with 12.0 million; ABC at 9.7 million; CBS with 8.8 million; MSNBC at 5.9 million; and Fox with 4.3 million.

Looking at the broader time period,  7 p.m. to 3 a.m. -- where election returns of Republican candidate Donald Trump’s major presidential upset win continued into the early morning hours -- Fox News Channel was on top. It had 12.2 million viewers. CNN was at 11.2 million; and MSNBC had 5.2 million.

For key cable TV news viewers during prime time -- adults 25-54 -- CNN took in 6.7 million, followed by Fox News, 4.6 million and MSNBC, 2.4 million. Among young Millennial 18-34 viewers, CNN had 3.3 million followed by Fox with 1.7 million and MSNBC, 997,000.

Among broadcast networks, key viewer group wins went to NBC. The network was tops among both 25-54 and 18-49 viewers, with a 4.8 and a 4.4 rating, respectively.

ABC scored a 3.4 among 25-54 viewers and 2.9 among 18-49 viewers. CBS was at a 2.9 for 25-54 viewers and 2.6 with 18-49 viewers.