Setting the standard in election reporting with the NBC Big Board
- ClientNBC
- IndustryMedia & Entertainment
- ServicesTechnology · Customer Experience
- CapabilitiesObjectives/Key Results · Content strategy · Data Strategy & Architecture · Data, Analytics, AI/ML Services · Customer Experience · Content Modeling
The ultimate data storytelling platform
Election nights demand speed, accuracy, and clarity—especially when millions are watching and trust is on the line. NBC needed a way to deliver high-stakes coverage that could keep pace with fast-moving results without sacrificing confidence in the data.
This story explores how we approached that challenge by reimagining, redesigning, and rebuilding the Big Board as a centerpiece of election reporting. You’ll see how we balanced editorial needs, technical constraints, and the realities of live television.
Along the way, we’ll highlight the collaboration that made it possible and the principles that guided key decisions. We focused on turning real-time data into clear, reliable context viewers can understand in the moment.
Key Takeaways
Improved newsroom election workflows with clearer data-storytelling and processing
Delivered error-free data that's reinstilling trust in election reporting
Developed a flexible design system to scale across NBC’s broadcast and digital properties
Built technical infrastructure prioritizing advanced data modeling, system integration, and security safeguards
Impact
NBC Big Board transformed complex election data into a fast, intuitive experience that helped audiences understand results as they unfolded across platforms. By combining clear storytelling with responsive, reliable interactivity, it expanded the reach and usability of real-time reporting while setting a new benchmark for accessible, engaging data journalism.
Fueling the nation's need for speed
Real-time election results from over 16,000 geographies in the U.S. concurrently—delivered in just 4 seconds. The Big Board has over 100FPS rendering power, making it the fastest on-air data-mapping tool in production today. Advanced caching strategies and system integrations keep data processing consistent and dependable, so results stay current even under heavy, concurrent demand.
Reliable infrastructure for speed and scale
Our Engineering team developed the Big Board’s infrastructure to reliably handle approximately 56 datasets for various elections since 2008, spanning core race types like presidential, house, senate, and gubernatorial races, plus additional race types such as Lt. Gov, Secretary of State, and Ballot Measures.
We built a scalable architecture designed for consistent performance and customization across NBC’s top platforms in English and Spanish, including two networks (NBC and MSNBC), various TV shows (Today Show, Meet the Press, Telemundo, Morning Joe, The Rachel Maddow Show), NBC News Now’s YouTube channel, and the “Kornacki Cam” YouTube stream.
Reaching that level of scale and reliability took nearly a year of trial and error to achieve zero errors.
A legacy of impact
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) launched on November 15, 1926, making it the oldest broadcasting network in the United States. Almost 100 years later, NBC News continues that legacy with technology and design built for dependable performance—so election coverage stays accurate, consistent, and on the air when it matters most.
Precision-tested technology
The Big Board embodies NBC’s commitment to accuracy with its state-of-the-art technology. We leveraged AI to simulate millions of real-time election scenarios, built 8 unique apps from scratch—all managed in a single codebase—and dedicated thousands of hours to unifying complex mapping technology for broadcast TV distribution and digital.
The result is a reliable experience, proven across more than 10,000 broadcast hours.
A co-host and a dance partner, all In one
The Big Board is the perfect “dance partner” for hosts during election coverage. We researched how NBC's hosts interacted with data and behaved under stress. Today, the Big Board anticipates the host’s needs as a presenter, helping translate complex election data into an understandable, interactive visual experience—built to perform reliably as results change in real time.
Setting a new standard for data journalism
NBC Big Board set out to raise the bar for how election data is presented and understood. By bringing key results into a single, clear experience, it helped make complex information easier to follow in the moments it mattered most. The work focused on delivering a data-driven view that supported fast comprehension without losing detail.
The result was a Big Board experience that reinforced NBC’s commitment to data journalism. It established a stronger standard for clarity and usability in how results are surfaced and compared. Overall, the project demonstrated how thoughtful presentation can make high-stakes data more accessible and more meaningful.
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