TV Ratings: Every Cable News Channel Is A Winner

The three main cable news channels scored more big ratings in the first quarter of 2021, but the past few weeks have taken a sharp downward turn.

According to The Holllywood Reporter, CNN, Fox News and MSNBC all found reasons to crow about their performance in the first three months of the year: MSNBC had the most watched program in The Rachel Maddow Show and led the full day in total viewers. CNN had the biggest year to year gains and led both the full day and primetime in the key adults 25-54 demographic. Fox News ranked first across all of cable in primetime for the fifth straight quarter,

The numbers for March, however, tell a different story. Fox News held the top spot across the board for the month, but all three networks fell by at least 19 percent in total day viewers and by at least 40 percent in adults 25-54 compared to last year.

The news cycle had a lot to do with that: Last March featured the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States and the subsequent disruption of the economy and the Democratic presidential primary. Fox News lost 51 percent of its total day audience and 34 percent of its primetime viewers from March 2020; CNN fell by 32 percent for the full day and 37 percent in primetime, and MSNBC was down 19 percent in both.

For the quarter as a whole, however, CNN and MSNBC both improved. MSNBC led total day viewership with 1.38 million in Nielsen's "most current" ratings a 30 percent bump from last year. CNN was right behind at 1.35 million, up 63 percent year to year, while Fox News' 1.34 million viewers was off by 30 percent. In primetime, CNN (1.99 million viewers) and MSNBC (2.29 million) were up by 45 percent and 19 percent respectively. While Fox News slid by 25 percent to 2.58 million viewers, it still maintained a decent lead in total viewers.

In the 25-54 demo, CNN led the quarter with an average of 352,000 viewers in that age range for the full day, to 225,000 for Fox and 219,000 for MSNBC. In primetime it was CNN with 535,000, Fox News with 408,000 and MSNBC with 375,000.

The Rachel Maddow Show averaged 3.6 million viewers for the quarter, edging Tucker Carlson Tonight on Fox News (3.43 million) for the No. 1 spot in cable news.

For the first time in 25 years, ABC News “World News Tonight with David Muir” won the 1st Quarter 2021 in Total Viewers (9.607 million), Adults 25-54 (1.902 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.335 million), based on Most Current Data from Nielsen Media Research – since 1Q96.  In fact, the “World News Tonight” has won in all three measures for the 4th consecutive quarter and has stood as the most-watched evening newscast for the 16th consecutive quarter - since 2Q20 and 2Q17, respectively.

In syndication...“Jeopardy!” ratings dropped another 5% in Katie Couric’s second week as guest host, falling behind “Family Feud” to finish second for the first time since Alex Trebek’s last episodes.

“Jeopardy!” finished with a 5.3 household rating, while “Family Feud” led the week ending March 21 with a 5.4 rating.

Couric was the game show’s first-ever female host. On March 8, she took the baton from “Jeopardy!” executive producer Mike Richards, who himself grabbed it from the game’s legendary champion and current consulting producer Ken Jennings. Next up on the show’s guest-hosting rotation was Dr. Oz, who began his run last week.