Since Election Day last year, Fox News Channel has consistently led in cable news ratings, achieving a remarkable 1,013 top broadcasts. One standout moment was President Donald Trump’s inauguration, which drew 11.7 million viewers, marking it as the highest-rated hour to date.
Interestingly, MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” did not make the top list, landing at No. 1,104 with 2.4 million viewers for its March 24 episode. Maddow returned on Monday after taking a break during the initial flurry of the new administration’s first 100 days.
Fox News is poised to conclude these first 100 days with the highest viewership in cable news history as it heads into April.
Since the election, Fox has commanded an impressive 65% share of total day cable news viewers, with its prime time share sitting at 66%. For comparison, CNN managed to capture just 14% of viewers during the day and 12% in prime time, while MSNBC garnered 20% and 22%, respectively.
Fox’s averages indicate strong performance as well: an average of 1.8 million viewers aged 25-54 during prime time since Election Day, with a total of 2.7 million viewers overall and 335,000 in that specific demographic. Concluding the initial 100 days with high ratings, Fox recorded 1.6 million viewers and 180,000 in the same demographic from April 28 to May 4.
During weekday prime time, Fox (2.9 million viewers) outperformed NBC (2.5 million viewers), while CNN faced challenges, with its viewership dipping to 365,000 for daily viewers and just 81,000 in the 25-54 demographic.
In a study conducted around the time of the 100th day of Trump’s second term, it was reported that networks like ABC, NBC, and CBS offered 92% negative coverage of him, which is certainly a notable context.
CBS, embroiled in a significant $20 billion lawsuit from Trump over a previous “60 Minutes” segment, reported 3.6 million viewers for its “CBS Evening News,” with 482,000 in the 25-54 demographic.
Fox’s “5” led cable news with 3.7 million total viewers and 366,000 in the demo. Meanwhile, “Jesse Watters Primetime” followed with 3.3 million viewers and 364,000 in demos, “Special Report” brought in 2.8 million viewers with 311,000 in the demo, and “The Ingraham Angle” had 2.7 million with 323,000 in that demographic. Other shows like “Hannity” and “Fox News @night” also ranked high, with 2.6 million and 1.5 million viewers, respectively.
Even among late-night offerings, Fox’s “Gutfeld!” found success, attracting 2.8 million viewers and 298,000 in the demo, comfortably outshining competitors like CBS’s “Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
For daytime programming, shows like “Wilkain Show” saw 2 million viewers, “American Newsroom” nearly 2 million, and “Faulkner Focus” at 1.8 million viewers. On Saturdays, “My Views with Lala Trump” attracted 1.6 million, featuring an interview with Elon Musk, while “Fox & Friends Weekend” followed closely with 1.5 million.
On Sundays, Maria Bartiromo’s “Sunday Morning Futures” was the leading show with 1.6 million viewers, while other programs like “American Sunday Night” and “The Big Weekend Show” also performed well.
In summary, Fox News continues to assert its dominance in cable news viewership, showing particularly strong ratings across various time slots and demographics.
