NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--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.
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.
From 4-6 AM/ET, FOX & Friends FIRST garnered 518,000 viewers and 101,000 in the 25-54 demo. FNC’s FOX & Friends (weekdays, 6-9 AM/ET) marked its 10th straight month as the top-rated cable news morning show across the board, with 1,329,000 viewers and 222,000 in the demo, easily outpacing CNN’s New Day and MSNBC’s Morning Joe across both categories. Meanwhile, CNN’s sixth relaunch attempt of New Day delivered a meager 357,000 viewers and 59,000 in the coveted 25-54 demo, marking its lowest-rated month ever in the 25-54 demo. In fact, FNC’s FOX & Friends more than tripled New Day in total viewers and in the 25-54 younger demo.
Marking its one year anniversary this month, FNC’s daytime lineup kicked off with a two-hour morning news program, America’s Newsroom with Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino (weekdays, 9-11 AM/ET), notching 1,765,000 viewers and 270,000 in the 25-54 demo. The Faulkner Focus at 11 AM/ET, anchored by Harris Faulkner, scored 1,719,000 viewers and 266,000 in the 25-54 demo, besting CNN and MSNBC across the board. At 12 PM/ET, Outnumbered earned 1,807,000 viewers and 278,000 in the demo. From 1-3 PM/ET, America Reports with John Roberts and Sandra Smith garnered 1,513,000 viewers and 240,000 in the 25-54 demo. At 3 PM/ET, anchor Martha MacCallum’s The Story averaged 1.6 million viewers and 261,000 in the 25-54 demo, while Your World with Neil Cavuto at 4 PM/ET nabbed 1,612,000 viewers and 260,000 in the 25-54. FNC’s daytime lineup topped several offerings across broadcast including America’s Newsroom and Outnumbered beating ABC’s GMA3 (1 PM/ET) and The Faulkner Focus and The Story outpacing CBS’s The Talk (2 PM/ET) in total viewers.
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. FNC’s Saturday primetime lineup, swept their respective timeslots and earned the top three highest-rated programs, outpacing all cable news competition in both total viewers and in the demo for the month. FNC’s Watters’ World, formerly hosted by Jesse Watters on Saturdays at 8 PM/ET, earned the number one program in total viewers for the weekend, with 1.8 million viewers and 198,000 in the demo. The 8 PM/ET hour is now helmed by Brian Kilmeade with One Nation and debuted with 1.5 million and 189,000 in the 25-54 demo. Justice with Judge Jeanine (Saturdays at 9 PM/ET) followed as the next most-watched on Saturdays in viewers, with 1.4 million and 174,000 in the demo. The 9 PM/ET hour is now occupied by Unfiltered with Dan Bongino in the new timeslot. Bongino easily trounced CNN and MSNBC across the board, delivering 1.3 million viewers and 190,000 with A25-54. At 10 PM/ET, FNC launched a new program Lawrence Jones Cross Country which also topped the competition, delivering 1.5 million viewers and 239,000 in the 25-54 demo. During the day, FNC’s Cavuto Live (Saturdays at 10 AM/ET) was the top-rated program in the 25-54 demo notching 254,000 viewers and 1.5 million total viewers.
On Sundays, FNC’s Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo (Sundays, 10 AM/ET) continued its dominance as the top-rated program in both categories for the weekend, with 1.7 million viewers and 249,000 in the demo. MediaBuzz, hosted by Howard Kurtz at 11 AM/ET, delivered 1.5 million viewers and the next most-watched program in the 25-54 demo on Sunday, with 201,000, outpacing CNN’s Reliable Sources (759,000 viewers and 114,000 with A25-54) across the board. FNC’s Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy (Sundays, 7 PM/ET), trounced every CNN and MSNBC program in total viewers, drawing an audience of 1.2 million viewers and 109,000 in the 25-54 demo. At 8 PM/ET, Life Liberty and Levin earned 1.5 million viewers and 150,000 in the demo, while The Next Revolution with host Steve Hilton (Sundays, 9 PM/ET) secured 1.1 million viewers and 134,000 in the demo. FOX & Friends Weekend (Weekends, 6-10 AM/ET) dominated CNN and MSNBC every hour in both categories for the month, earning 1.3 million viewers and 193,000 in the demo. Additionally, FOX Report with Jon Scott (nearly 1 million viewers; 105,000 A25-54) surpassed the cable news competition in its timeslot.
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)
JANUARY 2022 VS. JANUARY 2021 NIELSEN NUMBERS (seven day week, L+SD):
TOTAL DAY
FNC: 1,414,000 total viewers – up 4% (226,000 in 25-54 – down 7%)
CNN: 493,000 total viewers – down 74% (101,000 in 25-54 – down 81%)
MSNBC: 656,000 total viewers – down 60% (74,000 in 25-54 – down 75%)
PRIMETIME
FNC: 2,242,000 total viewers – down 12% (338,000 in 25-54 – down 20%)
CNN: 633,000 total viewers – down 77% (140,000 in 25-54 – down 82%)
MSNBC: 1,150,000 total viewers – down 56% (130,000 in 25-54 – down 73%)
FOX News Channel (FNC) is a 24-hour all-encompassing news service delivering breaking news as well as political and business news. The number one network in basic cable, FNC has been the most watched television news channel for 20 consecutive years. According to Nielsen Media Research, FNC currently attracts more than 50% of the cable news viewing audience. Notably, a 2021 Nielsen/MRI Fusion report showed the network garners the largest independent audience in cable news, while FNC’s primetime hours deliver the second largest liberal audience in cable news. Additionally, a 2021 Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index report stated FOX News leads the news industry in both brand loyalty, engagement, and expectations. Owned by FOX Corp, FNC is available in 80 million homes and dominates the cable news landscape, routinely notching the top 10 programs in the genre.
