Despite Donald Trump's upset victory in the presidential race, ratings for network election night coverage slipped when compared to four years ago, Deadline Hollywood reports.
The preliminary combined metered market household rating for the four major broadcast networks was 20.9 — down 8.7 percent from 2012, according to the website.
Deadline Hollywood attributed the decline to viewers having more choices to watch the results live, including online.
Overall, NBC came in first, according to the early figures, with a 7.0 household rating compared to ABC (6.1), CBS (4.8) and Fox (3.0).
Ironically, the website pointed out, it was NBC where Trump had first become a TV star when he appeared on "The Apprentice."
The Hollywood Reporter noted there were other factors, which contributed to the decline in network viewership.
"Call time obviously plays a bit of a factor in election night ratings," according to the Hollywood Reporter. "In 2012, networks started proclaiming (Barack) Obama the winner at 11:12 p.m. ET. It happened a little early in 2008, with the watch ending right at 11 p.m. The 2016 race didn't officially go to Trump until nearly 3 a.m. on the East Coast."
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