TV Ratings: FNC Delivers More Than 60% of Cable News Viewership

During the week of December 30 -January 5, FOX News Channel (FNC) continued to deliver more than 60% of the cable news audience across both primetime (64%) and total day (63%). 

During the holiday week, FNC was the only network to see both year-over-year and week-over-week growth even with the majority of hosts off for the week. 

• In primetime (8-11 PM/ET), FNC earned 1.7 million viewers and 198,000 in the 25-54 demo, commanding all of cable news across the board. In total day (6AM-6AM/ET), FNC posted 1.3 million viewers and 171,000 in the 25-54 demo. Notably, FNC secured 99 of the top 100 cable news telecasts for the week.
• On December 31st, CNN delivered its lowest-rated New Year’s Eve 11 PM/ET hour since 2019. The network posted year-over-year declines of 20% with viewers and 22% with the 25-54 demo. In the same timeslot, Jimmy Failla’s All-American New Year Bash recorded an increase of 11% with viewers (1.1 million P2+) and 50% with the 25-54 demo (144,000 viewers) year-over-year.
• For the week, The Five averaged 2.9 million viewers and 305,000 in the 25-54 demo, leading cable news across the board. At 6 PM/ET, Special Report with Bret Baier drew 2.2 million viewers and 248,000 in the 25-54 demo. The Ingraham Angle saw 1.9 million viewers and 221,000 in the 25-54 demo at 7 PM/ET. At 8 PM/ET, Jesse Watters Primetime delivered 2.1 million viewers and 225,000 in the 25-54 demo. At 9 PM/ET, Hannity posted 1.9 million viewers and 204,000 with A25-54. Gutfeld! (weekdays, 10 PM/ET), which was guest-hosted throughout the week, posted over 2.2 million viewers and 282,000 in the 25-54 demo. At 11 PM/ET, FOX News @ Night secured 1.4 million viewers and 219,000 in the 25-54 demo.

Ratings Graphics Courtesy of RoadMN

• FNC also saw a number of its daytime programs outrank the broadcast competition. Most notably, America Reports with Sandra Smith and John Roberts (weekdays, 1-3 PM/ET; 1,938,000 P2+), Outnumbered (weekdays, 12 PM/ET; 1,890,000 P2+), The Story with Martha MacCallum (weekdays, 3 PM/ET; 1,858,000 P2+), America’s Newsroom with Dana Perino and Bill Hemmer (weekdays, 9-11 AM/ET; 1,811,000 P2+) and Harris Faulkner’s The Faulkner Focus (weekdays, 11 AM/ET; 1,810,000 P2+) all outpaced NBC’s Today with Hoda and Jenna (1,593,000 P2+), ABC’s GMA3 (1,494,000 P2+) and NBC News Daily (1,328,000 P2+).On Saturday, The Big Weekend Show (weekends, 7 PM/ET) was the most-watched show of the day with 1.5 million viewers and 155,000 in the 25-54 demo. Life, Liberty & Levin (weekends, 8 PM/ET) led in primetime commanding 1.3 million viewers. FOX & Friends Weekend (weekends, 6-10 AM/ET) nabbed 1.3 million viewers and 146,000 in the 25-54 demo, second best in cable news.
• On Sunday, Maria Bartiromo’s Sunday Morning Futures (Sunday 10 AM/ET), which featured Rep. Mike Johnson’s first interview after his re-election as House Speaker, was the top show of the weekend with 1.8 million viewers and 169,000 in the 25-54 demo. At 11 AM/ET, MediaBuzz garnered 1.4 million viewers and 156,000 in the 25-54 demo, second in cable news. Life, Liberty & Levin secured 1.3 million viewers making it most-watched in primetime.

Source: Nielsen. Live+SD. Week of 12-30-24 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” ranked as the No. 1 evening newscast in all of broadcast and cable in Total Viewers (6.969 million), Adults 25-54 (886,000) and Adults 18-49 (632,000) during the week of Dec. 30, 2024, based on Live+Same Day Data from Nielsen Media Research.

“World News Tonight” outperformed “NBC Nightly News” (5.971 million, 842,000 and 565,000, respectively) by 998,000 Total Viewers, by 44,000 Adults 25-54 and by 67,000 Adults 18-49.

• For the week, “World News Tonight” (6.969 million, 886,000 and 632,000, respectively) beat “CBS Evening News” (4.499 million, 638,000 and 427,000, respectively) by 2.470 million Total Viewers, by 248,000 Adults 25-54 and by 205,000 Adults 18-49.
• Season to date, “World News Tonight” (7.582 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” (6.063 million) by 1.519 million and “CBS Evening News” (4.561 million) by 3.021 million. In fact, “World News Tonight” is growing its Total Viewer lead over NBC compared to the same point last season (+40% – 1.519 million vs. 1.088 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” (1.071 million and 735,000, respectively) is leading NBC (891,000 and 595,000, respectively), increasing its margins from the same point last season by triple digits in Adults 25-54 (+267% – 180,000 vs. 49,000) and Adults 18-49 (+211% – 140,000 vs. 45,000). In addition, “World News Tonight” is leading “CBS Evening News” (671,000 and 449,000, respectively) by 400,000 Adults 25-54 and by 286,000 Adults 18-49.

📺U-S TV SHOW RATINGS RANKER

Ranking is based on ratings data as of Thursday, January 2, 2025. 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.