TV Ratings Weekly: FNC Wins As CNN, MSNBC Sink to New Lows

During the week of November 18-24, FOX News Channel (FNC) notched 99 of the top 100 weekly cable news telecasts as MSNBC and CNN continued to mark new lows following the election.

Notably, FNC commanded 72% of the primetime cable news share and 67% of the total day share, while CNN and MSNBC fell to below 20% across both dayparts. FNC was also the most-watched network in cable news combined across both primetime and total day. In primetime (8-11 PM/ET), FNC earned 2.7 million viewers and 323,000 in the 25-54 demo, commanding all of cable news across the board. In total day (6AM-6AM/ET), FNC posted 1.7 million viewers and 206,000 in the 25-54 demo.

CNN and MSNBC both shrunk to historic lows for Monday-Friday in the 25-54 demo, as well as both networks seeing all-time lows for multiple shows. 

During Monday-Friday total day CNN saw just 59,000 viewers in the 25-54 demo and 38,000 in the 18-49, the lowest in its history. In Monday-Friday total day MSNBC saw just 50,000 in the 25-54 demo and 30,000 in the 18-49 demo, which the network hasn’t seen since 1999. 

On CNN Anderson Cooper 360 had a 10-year low while CNN News Central and CNN Newsroom marked their lowest weeks ever in the 25-54 demo. On MSNBC, The ReidOut, Jose Diaz Balart Reports, Ana Cabrera Reports saw their worst weeks ever with both viewers and A25-54, Deadline: White House and The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle marked their worst week ever in the 25-54 demo and Alex Wagner Tonight marked its worst week since launch with total viewers. 

Additionally, Morning Joe slumped to 691,000 viewers and 66,000 in the 25-54 demo, its worst non-holiday week since 2015 after the co-hosts met with president-elect Trump.

Ratings Graphics Courtesy of RoadMN

For the week, The Five averaged 4.2 million viewers and 440,000 in the 25-54 demo, leading cable news. At 6 PM/ET, Special Report with Bret Baier drew 3 million viewers and 325,000 in the 25-54 demo. The Ingraham Angle saw 3 million viewers and 346,000 in the 25-54 demo at 7 PM/ET. At 8 PM/ET, Jesse Watters Primetime delivered 3.7 million viewers and 432,000 in the 25-54 demo, making it the top show in cable news primetime across the board. At 9 PM/ET, Hannity posted 2.9 million viewers and 342,000 with A25-54. At 11 PM/ET, FOX News @ Night secured 1.7 million viewers and 241,000 in the 25-54 demo.

FOX News Channel’s Gutfeld! continued to lead all late-night television across the board. For the week, Gutfeld! averaged 3.1 million viewers and 431,000 in the 25-54 demo, topping CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (1.8 million P2+; 325,000 A25-54), ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! (1.7 million P2+; 346,000 A25-54) and NBC’s The Tonight Show (1.2 million P2+; 268,000 A25-54).

FNC also saw a number of its daytime programs outrank the broadcast competition. Most notably, Outnumbered (weekdays, 12 PM/ET; 2,212,000 P2+), Harris Faulkner’s The Faulkner Focus (weekdays, 11 AM/ET; 2,043,000 P2+), The Story with Martha MacCallum (weekdays, 3 PM/ET; 1,978,000 P2+), America Reports with Sandra Smith and John Roberts (weekdays, 1-3 PM/ET; 1,969,000) and America’s Newsroom with Dana Perino and Bill Hemmer (weekdays, 9-11 AM/ET; 1,949,000 P2+) and all outpaced NBC’s TODAY Third Hour (1,892,000 P2+), ABC’s GMA3 (1,353,000 P2+), NBC’s Today with Hoda and Jenna (1,300,000 P2+) and CBS’ The Talk (1,273,000 P2+).

On Saturday, Life, Liberty & Levin (weekends, 8 PM/ET) was the most-watched show of the day with 1,564,000 million viewers and 133,000 in the 25-54 demo. FOX & Friends Weekend (weekends, 6-10 AM/ET) and Cavuto Live (Saturday 10 AM - 12 PM/ET) led in the younger demo with 171,000 viewers. The Big Weekend Show (weekends, 7 PM/ET) averaged 1.5 million viewers and 137,000 in the 25-54 demo. FOX News Saturday Night with Jimmy Failla (Saturday, 10 PM/ET) nabbed 1 million viewers and 132,000 in the 25-54 demo.

On Sunday, Maria Bartiromo’s Sunday Morning Futures (Sunday 10 AM/ET) was the top show across the board with 1.8 million viewers and 176,000 in the 25-54 demo. Life, Liberty & Levin was most-watched in primetime with 1.5 million viewers. MediaBuzz (Sunday, 11 AM/ET) commanded 1.5 million viewers and 136,000 in the 25-54 demo.

Source: Nielsen. Live+SD. Week of 11-18-24 ratings data. Average audience for cable news networks Monday-Sunday based on Total Day and Prime (6a-6a, 8P-11P), P2+, P25-54, P18-49. Cable News/Broadcast Program averages exclude repeats and include the corresponding program name.

📺BROADCAST EVENING NEWS

“World News Tonight with David Muir” stood as the No. 1 evening newscast in all of broadcast and cable in Total Viewers (7.786 million), Adults 25-54 (1.110 million) and Adults 18-49 (766,000) during the week of Nov. 18, 2024, based on Live+Same Day Data from Nielsen Media Research.

• “World News Tonight” outdelivered “NBC Nightly News” (6.341 million, 934,000 and 635,000, respectively) by 1.445 million Total Viewers, by 176,000 Adults 25-54 and by 131,000 Adults 18-49.
• “World News Tonight” widened its margins versus the previous week over “NBC Nightly News” in Total Viewers (+19% – 1.445 million vs. 1.212 million), Adults 25-54 (+74% – 176,000 vs. 101,000) and Adults 18-49 (+56% – 131,000 vs. 84,000).
• “World News Tonight” increased its lead year to year with “NBC Nightly News” in Total Viewers (+173% – 1.445 million vs. 529,000), Adults 25-54 (+450% – 176,000 vs. 32,000) and Adults 18-49 (+58% – 131,000 vs. 83,000).
• “World News Tonight” improved on the previous week in Total Viewers (+7%/+510,000 – 7.786 million vs. 7.276 million), Adults 25-54 (+16%/+153,000 – 1.110 million vs. 967,000) and Adults 18-49 (+9%/+123,000 – 766,000 vs. 643,000), hitting season highs across the board. In fact, “World News Tonight” drew its largest overall audience in over 7 months — since w/o 4/1/24.
• On Tuesday (11/19/24), “World News Tonight” turned in its most-watched telecast (7.951 million) in more than 7 months — since 4/8/24.
• “World News Tonight” stood as the No. 2 program of the week in Total Viewers (7.786 million) on all of broadcast and cable (excluding sports).
• Season to date, “World News Tonight” (7.507 million) is ranking No. 1 in Total Viewers for the 9th consecutive year, based on Most Current Data. “World News Tonight” is leading “NBC Nightly News” (5.967 million) by 1.540 million and “CBS Evening News” (4.523 million) by 2.984 million. In fact, “World News Tonight” is growing its Total Viewer lead over NBC compared to the same point last season (+45% – 1.540 million vs. 1.063 million) to its largest in 30 years — since the 1994-1995 season.
• “World News Tonight” is ranking No. 1 in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 for the 6th straight season. “World News Tonight” (1.066 million and 731,000, respectively) is leading NBC (887,000 and 585,000, respectively), increasing its margins from the same point last season by triple digits in Adults 25-54 (+244% – 179,000 vs. 52,000) and Adults 18-49 (+248% – 146,000 vs. 42,000). In addition, “World News Tonight” is leading “CBS Evening News” (673,000 and 454,000, respectively) by 393,000 Adults 25-54 and by 277,000 Adults 18-49.

• For the week, “World News Tonight” (7.786 million, 1.110 million and 766,000, respectively) defeated “CBS Evening News” (4.680 million, 661,000 and 442,000, respectively) by 3.106 million Total Viewers, by 449,000 Adults 25-54 and by 324,000 Adults 18-49.

📺TV SHOW RATINGS RANKER

Ranking is based on ratings data as of Friday, November 22, 2024. The audience figures are derived from the latest Nielsen daily, weekly, or monthly P2+ program audience averages, whichever is the most recently available within the past seven-day window.