Midterm Election Livestreams Draw Record 10.27 Million Hours of Viewing; Influencers Rival Television
Election-related livestreams drew 10.27 million hours of viewing across more than 2,500 channels in the 30 days leading up to the November 3, 2026 vote, according to analytics platform Streams Charts — 4.5 times the viewing ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, in the most-watched election yet for livestreaming.
Left-leaning creator Hasan Piker was at the center of the surge. The self-described Marxist drew a peak of 241,783 concurrent viewers to his election-night stream on Twitch, which accumulated 1.75 million hours of viewing — nearly 45 percent of total election livestream watch time. Piker also campaigned with Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar and backed progressive challengers including New York's Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier, who both won congressional seats on November 3. Michigan Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed asked Piker to tone down his rhetoric after the streamer said Jews who supported Israel should be concerned for their safety.
Traditional television joined the competition. NBC News launched the "Kornacki Cam" on election night, a nearly 11-hour livestream featuring data guru Steve Kornacki. A 2025 Pew Research Center survey found that 38 percent of Americans aged 18 to 29 regularly get news from social media influencers, compared with 8 percent of those 65 and older.
Source: Reuters
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：一场直播活动现场，摄像机对准台上嘉宾（资料图）。NASA，Wikimedia Commons，公共领域。 / Photo: Cameras filming a live event (file photo). NASA, Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
