TV Ratings: CableTV News Sees Huge Tune-In Wednesday

Tucker Carlson was tops in prime time on Wednesday — propelling Fox News to another big ratings day, led once again by Special Report, thanks to President Donald Trump’s daily coronavirus task force briefing.

According to Mediaite citing data from Nielsen, Tucker Carlson Tonight put up 4.61 million total viewers, and 965,000 in the advertiser-coveted adults 25-54 demographic – leading prime time by a healthy margin. After topping 1 million in the demo his Tuesday broadcast — which featured an interview with the president — Sean Hannity tailed off some on Wednesday but held on to second place in prime time with 4.12 million total and 787,000 in the key demo. Laura Ingraham earned the bronze for Fox in prime time Wednesday, finishing off a clean sweep of the medal podium with 3.72 million overall, and 759,000 in the demo.

The Chris Cuomo and Andrew Cuomo show has proved popular with many viewers, and the New York governor’s Wednesday appearance with his brother boosted Cuomo Prime Time to a strong fourth in the demo — notching 737,000 viewers in that age bracket. MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, however, bested her timeslot competitor in total viewers — with 3.10 million viewers to Cuomo’s 2.61 million.

All told, Fox News averaged 4.15 million overall in prime time, with 837,000 in the demo. MSNBC ranked second in total viewers, with 2.45 million to CNN’s 2.19. But CNN’s performance in the demo, which has been strong throughout the coronavirus outbreak, remained so on Wednesday — as it bested MSNBC by a total of 657,000 to 374,000.