Live Only On Fox News: 1.8M Watched U-S Shoot Down Balloon

Fox News Channel was the most-watched cable news channel on Saturday afternoon, including an audience of nearly 2 million viewers who were watching when U.S. forces shot down the Chinese spy balloon that had traversed the country, reports Mark Joyella at Forbes. 

Just after 2:30 p.m. ET, FNC’s live camera in Surfside Beach, Florida captured the moment when an F-22 fighter jet used a missile to bring down the balloon at an altitude of 58,000 feet. For the hours of 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Fox’s average audience was 1.8 million viewers, including 297,000 viewers 25-54—the key demographic most valued by advertisers.

The network’s coverage of the balloon saga helped Fox sail to an easy victory in the ratings for the week ending February 5, with an average prime time audience of 2.256 million viewers and 302,000 viewers in the key demo. This marked the 103rd consecutive week that Fox News beat both CNN and MSNBC in prime time and full day ratings, as compiled by Nielsen.

Elsewhere, FNC’s The Five was once again the highest-rated show in all of cable news, delivering an average audience of 3.279 million viewers. Tucker Carlson Tonight was second with 3.235 million viewers, followed by Jesse Watters Primetime (2.856 million viewers), Hannity (2.577 million viewers), and Special Report with Bret Baier (2.407 million viewers)—all airing on Fox News.

In the key demo, Tucker Carlson Tonight finished first on the week with an average audience of 461,000 viewers, followed by The Five (353,000 viewers), Hannity (345,000 viewers), Jesse Watters Primetime (326,000 viewers) and Special Report with Bret Baier (257,000 viewers).

In the morning cable news race, Fox & Friends easily beat back its competitors on MSNBC and CNN, delivering an average total audience of 1.218 million viewers for the week, well ahead of MSNBC’s Morning Joe (803,000 viewers) and CNN This Morning (348,000 viewers). In the key demo, Fox & Friends was first with 167,000 viewers, followed by Morning Joe (99,000 viewers) and CNN This Morning (70,000 viewers).