Fox News Tops September And Third-Quarter Viewership, All Networks See Drop In Key Demo

Ted Johnson
·3 min read
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Fox News again topped its cable news rivals in total viewers and a key demographic during the month of September and for the third quarter.

But it was a rather dismal period for the networks when it comes to drawing viewers in the key 25-54 demo, as they all saw audience declines in the category versus a year ago. MSNBC and Fox News did show some growth in certain categories of total viewers, and there is hope among executives that interest in the 2022 midterms will lead to uptick as November approaches.

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In September, Fox News averaged 2.13 million viewers, down 15% from the same period in 2021. MSNBC averaged 1.23 million, down 3%, while CNN posted 682,000, down 14%. In the 25-54 demo, Fox News averaged 280,000, down 31%, while CNN posted 136,000, down 27% and MSNBC was at 114,000, down 26%.

In total day, Fox News averaged 1.41 million, down 4%, while MSNBC posted 791,000, up 10%, and CNN was at 580,000, flat versus a year ago. In the 25-54 demo, Fox News averaged 201,000, down 17%, followed by CNN with 111,000, down 13% and 82,000 for MSNBC, off by 2%.

The Five again came in first in total viewers among all cable programs, averaging 3.3 million, followed by Tucker Carlson Tonight with 3.1 million, Jesse Watters Primetime at 2.73 million, Hannity at 2.7 million and Special Report with Bret Baier with 2.38 million.

In adults 25-54, Tucker Carlson Tonight topped with 438,000, followed by The Five with 420,000, Jesse Watters Primetime with 348,000, Hannity at 340,000 and Gutfeld! with 338,000.

For the third quarter, Fox News topped primetime with an average of 2.19 million total viewers, down 8%, followed by MSNBC with 1.28 million, flat versus last year, and CNN with 717,000, down 13%. In adults 25-54, Fox News averaged 294,000, down 23%, versus 150,000 for CNN, down 21% and 127,000 for MSNBC, off by 22%.

In total day, Fox News averaged 1.41 million, up 3%, followed by MSNBC with 783,000, up 6% and CNN at 558,000, down 7%. In the 25-54 demo, Fox News averaged 201,000, down 13%, CNN was at 110,000, down 17%, and MSNBC posted 85,000, off by 11%.

The Five topped total viewers, averaging 3.3 million, followed by Tucker Carlson Tonight with 3.2 million, Jesse Watters Primetime at 2.7 million, Hannity with 2.68 million and Special Report with Bret Baier at 2.34 million.

In adults 25-54, Tucker Carlson Tonight topped 468,000, followed by The Five with 418,000, Hannity with 358,000, Jesse Watters Primetime at 342,000 and Gutfeld! with 339,000.

Fox News noted that Greg Gutfeld’s show topped “all of late-night for second consecutive month,” but that claim that comes with a big huge asterisk. While his show had its highest rated quarter, it is a late-night show only in one part of the country, as it is not time delayed for the western time zones. So in Los Angeles, it airs at 8 PM.

Also of note: September marked the first full month of MSNBC’s unusual arrangement in which Rachel Maddow anchors on Mondays at 9 PM ET and Alex Wagner hosts the rest of the weeknights.

In its release, Fox News noted that Hannity beat Wagner “by double and triple-digit advantages.” MSNBC said that the Maddow-Wagner combination averaged 1.7 million total viewers at that hour in Q3, with The Rachel Maddow Show averaging 2.5 million and up 15% year over year. Wagner’s show, the network said, averaged 1.6 million viewers, a 36% increase versus MSNBC Prime, the show that filled the slot since Maddow went to one night a week in May.

The figures are from Nielsen via Fox News and MSNBC.

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