The idea of watching election night returns on television wasn't as appealing as it used to be. The Nielsen company said that 42.3 million people watched returns come in Tuesday, at least through 11 p.

Wary of the drawn out 2020 election and the infamous early call for Arizona, channels want to explain to audiences how and why they are making calls.

Despite all drama leading up to Election Day, Nielsen is reporting that viewing across 18 networks on election night was notably lower than 2020, with over 42 million viewers turned in between 7 p.m.