Fox News Channel swept its cable news competitors in primetime in July, data shows. It was also the most-watched ‘throughout the day’ cable news network. This category takes in account adults aged 25 to 54, the most valuable demographic for advertisers.
According to audience data compiled by Nielsen, Fox News is one of the few cable news networks to report an increase year-over-year, which averaged 1.35 million total day viewers in July 2022. This is an increase of 14% in total day viewers from the same period last year. In the second place overall was MSNBC (765,000 total day viewers) and in the third place, CNN (541,000 total day viewers).
For the 25-54 demographic, Fox News came out on top with an average audience of 292,000 viewers. While CNN (159,000 viewers, down 18%) and MSNBC (133,000 viewers, down 22%) were next. For the week, HGTV was the most viewed entertainment network with 965,000 viewers, compared to Hallmark Channel’s 957,000 viewers and TBS’ 836,000 viewers, reported Forbes.
Compared with the same period a year ago, Fox News was down just 1%, with an average total primetime audience of 2.116 million viewers. In second place was MSNBC with 1.295 million viewers showing 2% decrease from last year. While the third place was reserved for CNN with 731,000 viewers, down 15% from a year ago. Discovery Channel, INSP, TLC, USA Network and ESPN completed the week’s top 10 most-watched channels in prime time, Nielsen said.
In terms of a total day, Fox News overwhelmed the cable network arena averaging 1.3 million viewers to earn its 30th consecutive weekly win. MSNBC (688,000 viewers), Hallmark Channel (554,000), HGTV (518,000) and CNN (485,000) followed, according to Nielsen.
There was a total audience of 3.21 million viewers in July for Fox News Channel’s The Five, the most watched program in cable news in the past eight months. Despite airing during off-peak hours, the program has consistently led all cable news in the past eight months.
In second place was Tucker Carlson Tonight with 3.103 million viewers, while Jesse Watters Primetime (2.636 million viewers) and Hannity (2.53 million viewers) who are both aired on Fox News, came in second and third place consecutively. While the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC finished fifth with around 2.4 million viewers, the highest-rated show not airing on Fox News Channel.
In July and among key demo viewers, Tucker Carlson Tonight came in first with 482,000 viewers, followed by The Five (410,000 viewers), Hannity (343,000 viewers), Jesse Watters Primetime (330,000 viewers) and the late-night show Gutfeld! (326,000 viewers). All aired on Fox News.
Both the network news division and the Cable News Networks are expecting to witness an increase in viewership as the midterm elections are approaching. None of the newscasts reached the top five among total viewers or in the key demo, reflecting the cable news networks’ dependence on opinions and personalities. According to experts, it is likely that Fox News Channel could repeat the same success in a few weeks when the new August reports come out.