Berlin – September 11, 2026 -- German digital media outlet NIUS drew more than 1.3 million viewers for its special broadcast covering the Saxony-Anhalt state election, marking one of the largest audiences recorded for live digital political coverage in Germany.
YouTube live audience peaks at 135,000 concurrent viewers
At the broadcast's peak, over 135,000 viewers watched simultaneously on YouTube alone. NIUS' YouTube channel logged more than 5.2 million total viewers in July, according to the company.
NIUS Live becomes Germany's largest daily livestream
Over the past seven days, NIUS Live averaged 32,357 concurrent viewers per episode, positioning it as the largest livestream in Germany by the company's account. The program airs daily starting at 6 a.m.
Chief editor frames shift as structural change in news consumption
NIUS editor-in-chief Julian Reichelt said media consumption habits have shifted away from fixed evening news broadcasts toward live, unfiltered digital coverage, describing the change as a daily audience decision rather than a theoretical trend.
The election-night figures extend a pattern of rising engagement for NIUS, which has positioned itself against traditional broadcast formats in Germany's political news coverage.