NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 05: The News Corporation headquarters, owner of Fox News, stands in Manhattan ... [+]
The Fox News Channel prevailed in the November cable news ratings, easily beating back the competition from CNN and MSNBC. According to ratings data compiled by Nielsen, Fox News delivered an average prime time audience of 2.578 million viewers in November, followed by MSNBC (1.091 million total viewers) and CNN (654,000 viewers).
In the key demo of adults 25-54—the demographic most valued by advertisers—Fox finished first with an average audience of 420,000 viewers. CNN was second (148,000 viewers) and MSNBC (140,000 viewers).
Overall, the cable news networks saw ratings drop significantly from the same month one year ago, as the coronavirus pandemic coincided with the presidential election, driving heavy viewership. CNN experienced the most dramatic decline, dropping 77 percent from one year ago in prime, followed by MSNBC (down 59 percent) and Fox News (down 35 percent).
The drop-offs were even bigger in the key demo, with CNN experiencing a year-over-year decline of fully 84 percent in prime time. MSNBC’s decline was 74 percent, and Fox News had the smallest year-over-year drop, down 49 percent.
Fox News host Tucker Carlson
Tucker Carlson Tonight was the most-watched show in cable news for the month, winning among total viewers (3.667 million viewers) and in the key demo (651,000 viewers). Overall, Fox News swept the top five programs in cable news in both metrics. Following Tucker Carlson Tonight, FNC’s The Five took second place (3.512 million total viewers and 557,000 viewers in the key demo), followed by Hannity (3.234 million total viewers and 541,000 viewers in the key demo), Special Report with Bret Baier (2.768 million viewers and 475,000 viewers in the key demo) and The Ingraham Angle (2.675 million total viewers and 469,000 viewers 25-54).
