CBS News to launch election night "nerd show" for politics junkies
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CBS News executive director of elections and surveys Anthony Salvanto. Photo: Courtesy of CBS News
CBS News is launching a new election night streaming show that gives political junkies the opportunity to watch its decision desk analyze races and make calls in real time.
Why it matters: "The Nerd Show" represents the network's first election-focused show built for a digital audience.
- "There's an audience on YouTube and some of those other places like X of people who are political junkies, and we want to capture that audience," said David Reiter, senior vice president of special events and special projects for CBS News 24/7.
How it works: The special streaming show will begin at 5pm ET, a few hours before CBS News' official election broadcast.
- It will be hosted by CBS News executive director of elections and surveys Anthony Salvanto alongside congressional correspondent Caitlin Huey-Burns.
- Pollsters and data experts will appear alongside the pair throughout the livestream, which will be distributed on YouTube, X and CBS News' owned and operated digital channels, including its streaming network, CBS News 24/7.
- The show will focus primarily on the numbers, allowing political enthusiasts to dive deep into real-time election data, exit polls, etc.
Between the lines: To power the show, CBS News is partnering with election data company VoteHub, which will provide precinct-level results, maps and models for Salvanto and his team to analyze in real-time.
- The show will also include prediction market insights from Kalshi.
The intrigue: Salvanto's decision desk will be on camera as it analyzes inbound data and makes election calls
- "You will actually watch us churn through this data and kick around what it means in real time," Salvanto told Axios.
- His team could get a new county result, plug it into a model and walk viewers through how it changes their assessment of a race.
- CBS News plans to incorporate some of the feed from "The Nerd Show," with anchors from its main election night broadcast dipping into the streaming multicast for deeper dives into major races.
The big picture: More news and prediction market companies are leaning into election night and special products as an opportunity to hyper-serve political fanatics who love the data behind politics.
- NBC News is launching a cross-platform franchise centered on Steve Kornacki's signature data-driven analysis.
- Associated Press has added more live video to its election night coverage, showcasing how its team analyzes data and reaches results.
- Polymarket recently launched a dedicated 2026 midterms hub.
