In a hilariously epic fail for the liberal media, Fox News finished the month of August with 94 of the top 100 cable telecasts in total viewers amidst a monumental month of news with Gutfeld! scoring its first-ever victories over CBS’s The Late Show while, at the other end of the spectrum, MSNBC scored its lowest total day and primetime in the 25-54 demo since December 2015.
And despite the attempts from Jeff Zucker PR flunkie Brian Stelter, CNN also had a difficult month with its worst month in weekday primetime total viewers since June 2019. It’s safe to say they desperately miss Donald Trump.
According to an FNC press release, they “notch[ed] 94 of the top 100 cable telecasts for the month and 13 of the top 14 cable news programs in overall viewers and the younger A25-54 demo, according to Nielsen Media Research.” Not surprisingly, this also included a sweep of the top five spots.
Fox’s successes stood head and shoulders above MSNBC, which had not only the worst demo month since December 2015, but its worst in total viewers since 2017 and has experienced a drop of 40 percent from last year across all measuring sticks.
New MSNBC head Rashida Jones took the helm of the network in February, so it hadn’t exactly been smooth sailing. And with both chief Resistance anchor Rachel Maddow and Lyin’ Brian Williams reportedly set to step back from their weekday shows, Jones has some challenges to work through.
Meanwhile, Fox also maintained its spot as “the most-watched network in all of basic cable, sweeping the competition in both total day and primetime total viewers” which were, quite simply, a bloodbath.
With FNC’s total primetime viewers coming out to 2.5 million total viewers and 394,000 in the demo, FNC annihilated CNN by a factor of 200 percent in prime time and 100 percent in the demo.
And to further bolster how putrid their programming has been, CNN’s most-watched show in Cuomo Prime Time didn’t appear in the cable news show rankings until 22nd place, behind 14 FNC shows and seven on MSNBC.
Year-to-year, Fox has only dropped 20 percent in total viewers and 24 percent in the demo for total day while CNN has lost 39 percent of its total viewership and 47 percent in the demo and MSNBC having hemorrhaged 41 percent of its total audience and 51 percent among 25-54-year-olds.
In primetime, things only got worse for CNN in particular as they’ve seen a 51 percent drop in total viewers and a staggering 58 percent in the demo.
In late-night, Gutfeld! was the seventh most-watched show in cable news (at 1.7 million total viewers and 312,000 in the demo) and showed no mercy in its timeslot by crushing Lyin’ Brian’s The 11th Hour, CNN’s Don Lemon Tonight, and its broadcast network competitors.
Along with its continued dominance over ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! and NBC’s The Tonight Show in total viewers (and its fellow cable late-night comedy shows in both brackets), FNC said “Gutfeld! also notched its first weekly win against CBS' The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in total viewers and in the demo.”
FNC added that it’s even more notable considering the fact that “Colbert hasn't lost a week since February 2018.”
Here are some other noteworthy highlights from a selection of FNC shows (click “expand”):
At 8 PM/ET, Tucker Carlson Tonight completed the month as the top-rated program in its timeslot in all categories, averaging over 3.3 million viewers and 551,000 in the 25-54 demo, as well as 348,000 in the 18-49 category. Hannity at 9 PM/ET followed suit with A25-54, averaging 3 million viewers in August, 503,000 in the 25-54 demo and 309,000 among adults 18-49. Knocking MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show out of third place, The Five at 5 PM/ET notched the top three rated show in the demo with 3.1 million viewers, and 460,000 in the 25-54 demo, as well as 298,000 in the 18-49 demo. At 10 PM/ET, The Ingraham Angle garnered 2.4 million viewers, 410,000 in the 25-54 demo and 245,000 in 18-49 for August. Rounding out the top five programs at 6 PM/ET, Special Report with Bret Baier, delivered 2.2 million viewers, 349,000 with A25-54 and 235,000 with A18-49 was the only news program to be included.
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At 12 AM/ET, FOX News @ Night with Shannon Bream had an average audience of 928,000 viewers and 202,000 in the 25-54 demo.
From 4-6 AM/ET, FOX & Friends FIRST garnered 467,000 viewers. FNC's FOX & Friends (weekdays, 6-9 AM/ET) marked its fifth straight month as the top-rated cable news morning show across the board, with 1.2 million viewers and 209,000 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 438,000 viewers and 90,000 in the coveted 25-54 demo notching double-digit losses with both the demo and total viewers.
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Once again, FNC's Saturday primetime powerhouse lineup swept their respective timeslots and earned the top three highest-rated programs, besting all cable news competition in both total viewers and in the demo for the month.
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MediaBuzz, hosted by Howard Kurtz at 11 AM/ET, delivered 1.4 million viewers and the next most-watched program in the 25-54 demo, with 239,000, outpacing CNN's Reliable Sources (896,000 viewers and 159,000 with A25-54) across the board. FNC's newest program on Sunday evenings, Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy (Sundays, 7 PM/ET), trounced every CNN and MSNBC program in total viewers, drawing an audience of 1.8 million viewers and 237,000 in the 25-54 demo.
