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Wednesday, February 2, 2022

FNC Top Cable News Network For 20-Years


FOX News Channel (FNC) has accomplished another historic feat, marking its 20th consecutive year as the number one cable news network in total day and primetime, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Since January 2002, FNC has remained the most-watched cable news network across both dayparts with total viewers and in the 25-54 demographic. 

FNC continued its ratings dominance for the month of January and was the only cable news network to show year-over-year growth in total day viewers, while MSNBC and CNN are experiencing massive declines, both shedding nearly three quarters of their audience. FNC continued to grow its audience share, occupying more than half the audience in total day viewers (55%) and the 25-54 demo (56%) and in primetime across both categories (56% P2+ and 56% A25-54). Notably, FNC continues to deliver the largest and most politically diverse audience, attracting more Democrat and Independent viewers in both total day and primetime than CNN and MSNBC.

In commenting on the milestone, FOX News Media CEO Suzanne Scott said, “I am immensely proud of this landmark achievement as it is a testament to the dedicated teams across FOX News Channel, who are the backbone in making us number one for 20 consecutive years with the most loyal and politically diverse audience in cable news.”

In January, FNC notched 95 of the top 100 cable news telecasts for the month, including the top 91 cable news telecasts, meanwhile CNN did not have one telecast in the top 100. FNC delivered 14 of the top 15 cable news programs in overall viewers, along with 15 of the top 16 in the 25-54 and 18-49 demos. Additionally, FNC remained the most-watched network in cable news, sweeping the competition in both total day and primetime viewers, beating CNN and MSNBC combined in both total day and primetime across both categories for six consecutive months. From 8-11 PM/ET, FNC delivered 2.2 million viewers, 338,000 in the 25-54 demo and 206,000 with 18-49. In total day, FNC garnered 1.4 million viewers, 226,000 with the 25-54 demo and 138,000 with the 18-49 demo.


Graphics courtesy of RoadMN (w/permission)

Notably, CNN shed more than 80% of its viewers in total day and primetime demo and plummeted across all categories. Despite numerous breaking news events, CNN was beat by Hallmark, TBS, and HGTV in total day viewers and ranked outside the top 15 in the primetime 25-54 demo. At 9 PM/ET, CNN shuffled programing to replace Cuomo Prime Time, including airings of Democracy in Peril which brought in the least amount of viewers for the timeslot since July 2015. Meanwhile, MSNBC saw lows dating back to 2003 in the total day 25-54 demo and 2015 with primetime 25-54 demo, losing more than 50% year-over-year in all categories. MSNBC’s highest-rated program The Rachel Maddow Show also bottomed out, notching its lowest-rated 25-54 demo since December 2015.

At 5 PM/ET, FNC’s signature roundtable program The Five continued to make history, finishing the month as the highest-rated program in total viewers for the second consecutive month and past three out of four months. Notably, The Five delivered 3,573,000 total viewers, 504,000 in the 25-54 demo and 320,000 in the 18-49 demo, outpacing every program on CNN and MSNBC in all categories. Additionally, The Five beat ABC’s signature series The Bachelor in total viewers. 

At 8 PM/ET, FNC’s Tucker Carlson Tonight completed the month as the top-rated program in both younger demos, averaging 560,000 viewers with the 25-54 demo as well as 342,000 in the 18-49 category. Tucker Carlson Tonight drew 3,414,000 in total viewers, crushing his primetime competitors across the board. 

Hannity at 9 PM/ET followed suit, averaging 2,862,000 viewers, 433,000 in the 25-54 demo and 256,000 among adults 18-49. Knocking MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show out of the top five in viewers and outpacing her across the board, 

The Ingraham Angle garnered 2,225,000 viewers, 376,000 in the 25-54 demo and 219,000 in 18-49 demo for the month of January. 

Additionally at 6 PM/ET, Special Report with Bret Baier delivered 2,616,000 viewers, 387,000 with the 25-54 demo and 229,000 with the 18-49 demo. FNC delivered six programs that exceeded 2 million viewers for the month. According to Nielsen MRI/Fusion data, Tucker Carlson Tonight ranked as the number one program among Democrats in the 25-54 demo while Carlson, Hannity and The Five placed among the top four cable news programs with Democrats in total viewers.

At 7 PM/ET, FNC’s newly-launched Jesse Watters Primetime debuted with strong ratings out of the gate, ranking in the top three spots in both categories. During launch week, host Jesse Watters drew 3.3 million viewers and 490,000 in the 25-54 demo. Prior to the January 24th launch, FNC presented FOX News Primetime, featuring rotating hosts. For the month of January, FNC’s 7 PM/ET timeslot drew 2,385,000 total viewers and 388,000 in the 25-54 demo.

Greg Gutfeld’s late-night program Gutfeld! finished January as the number-one-rated show in cable television in total viewers at 11 PM/ET, and in the top 10 overall with 1,906,000 viewers, 343,000 with 25-54 demo and 207,000 in 18-49 demo. Gutfeld! outpaced ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! and NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon in total viewers. In addition to surpassing every CNN program in total viewers for the month, Gutfeld! crushed its timeslot competitors, CNN’s Don Lemon Tonight and MSNBC’s The 11th Hour, across the board. Both Lemon and The 11th Hour notched new lows with Lemon delivering its lowest ratings since 2014 and MSNBC’s lowest ever. Since launch, Gutfeld has continued to increase viewership among all categories each month, posting double-digit gains in total viewers (+29%) and in the 25-54 demo (+9%) versus January 2021. At 12 AM/ET, FOX News @ Night with Shannon Bream had an average audience of 978,000 viewers and 214,000 in the 25-54 demo.

Once again, FNC continued its dominance throughout the weekend, beating CNN and MSNBC combined with both categories during total day and primetime and winning every weekend hour. 

📺JANUARY 2022 RATINGS FOR THE TOP FIVE PROGRAMS IN CABLE NEWS:

Total Viewers: The Five (3,573,000), Tucker Carlson Tonight (3,414,000) Hannity (2,862,000), Special Report with Bret Baier (2,616,000), Jesse Watters Primetime/FOX News Primetime (2,385,000)

Adults 25-54: Tucker Carlson Tonight (560,000), The Five (504,000), Hannity (433,000), Jesse Watters Primetime/FOX News Primetime (388,000), Special Report with Bret Baier (387,000)

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