Election 2024 marked the first time in more than 20 years that NBC ranked #1 in viewer ratings (according to Nielson), and that’s a direct result of the Big Board and Steve Kornacki. The NBC Big Board addressed and overcame one of the most imperative cultural trends of the moment: a lack of trust in the media. Amid the chaos of misinformation and cyber threats, the Big Board did so by meticulously scrutinizing and delivering data that removed any doubt about live election results. The result tapped into an amalgamation of trends at once, from the gamification of reporting to a data journalist (Steve Kornacki) becoming part of the zeitgeist.
The challenge was daunting: turning a deluge of data into real-time, accurate and engaging storytelling for a highly polarized audience.
The complexity of electoral data demanded NBC's Big Board provide clarity, trust, and immediacy. That required seamless integration of advanced technology, intuitive design, and dynamic storytelling to enhance viewer engagement and reaffirm NBC's position as a trusted source for election coverage.
We're in a jarring cultural moment in which public trust in media has reached historic lows—only 31% of Americans express confidence in the media (source: 60 Minutes). That tension, however, created an opening for NBC's Big Board (alongside Steve Kornacki) to emerge as a beacon of reliability during the 2024 election.
On November 5, 2024, as millions tuned in, the Big Board and Steve Kornacki delivered not just results, but context, clarity, and confidence. It transcended mere data visualization to become a cultural phenomenon, embodying the intersection of cutting-edge technology, dynamic storytelling and civic trust.
From processing over 10 million data points in under four seconds to enabling Kornacki’s seamless navigation through county-level trends and historical comparisons, the Big Board was designed to perform under pressure. Its intuitive, multitasking design allowed for live storytelling with fluid, real-time updates — transforming complex electoral data into compelling narratives that viewers could easily follow.
In a polarized election year, the Big Board’s precision had an almost calming effect.
As Kornacki navigated the shifting numbers, the Big Board functioned as a national reassurance mechanism, showcasing democracy in action. The ability to see vote counts update live, along with nuanced breakdowns by geography and demographics, gave viewers a sense of control and understanding, even in moments of uncertainty.
The sheer volume of data processed was staggering. Each click on the Big Board tapped into over 10 million lines of data — sliced by region, voter turnout, historical trends, and demographic shifts. It wasn’t just about displaying numbers; it was about doing so in a way that could be intuitively understood, even by viewers unfamiliar with electoral processes.
But the Big Board’s brilliance on-screen presence was only as exceptional as its technological backbone. Built with WebSockets for instantaneous updates, TypeScript for robust type safety, and MapLibre to replace commercial dependencies with open-source precision, the system managed 1,100+ unique races across 9 production servers and 28 environments. Its AI-driven QA caught edge cases—tied races, missing data, and more—before they ever reached the air.
At its heart, the Big Board wasn’t just a technical achievement; it was a reimagining of public engagement with democracy. It proved that when data, technology, and creativity converge, they can do more than inform—they can inspire.
The impact from the 2024 election surpassed every business and brand goal, elevating the Big Board as a new standard in data journalism and transcending Kornacki and NBC into the cultural zeitgeist.
*Sources: NBCUNIVERSAL MEDIA, Nielsen, Adweek
The Making of the Big Board:
- The Big Board is made up of a suite of 8 custom apps, all built and managed in a single codebase
