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Screen Savers: Magic Walls, Big Boards Become Critical to TV-News Election Night Success
Television news networks are expanding their interactive election-night graphics, making data boards and on-screen analysts central to how they explain results and hold viewers’ attention. The tools help audiences follow close races and changing vote counts, while giving networks new ways to draw digital viewers alongside their traditional broadcasts.
CNN’s John King will use a live leaderboard and county-level cost data on the Magic Wall; Fox News’ Bill Hemmer will map incoming votes, and ABC News plans a feature tracking voter shifts since 2024. NBC is adding a digital-only Kornacki-cam while keeping Steve Kornacki in the studio, and MS NOW will stream Ali Velshi at his board on YouTube.
In short
- Election-night data boards are now central to network coverage.
- Networks are adding features for digital audiences.
- New graphics will track close races, costs and voter shifts.
Explained simply
On election night, television networks report results as votes are counted across states, counties and individual races. Because counts arrive at different times, early leads can change, and viewers need to distinguish partial results from final outcomes.
Networks use maps, charts and analysts to show where votes are coming from and how the totals are changing. Presenters such as CNN’s John King and NBC’s Steve Kornacki explain these displays, while broadcasters including Fox News, ABC News and MS NOW are also developing their own features and online streams.
These tools matter because they can help viewers follow close contests and understand differences between places, as well as keep them watching on television or online. The displays show reported data; they do not determine the outcome, which depends on the votes and the official counting process.