Below is a table of the prime time cable news ratings on FOX News, CNN, and MSNBC from Tuesday, September 8 through Wednesday, September 9. Analysis below.
Network
|
Day
|
A25-54
|
A18-49
|
A18-34
|
Total viewers
| |
Hannity
|
FOX News
|
Wednesday
|
0.72
|
0.42
|
0.23
|
4.798
|
Tucker Carlson Tonight
|
FOX News
|
Wednesday
|
0.71
|
0.41
|
0.21
|
4.445
|
Hannity
|
FOX News
|
Tuesday
|
0.67
|
0.44
|
0.26
|
4.394
|
Tucker Carlson Tonight
|
FOX News
|
Tuesday
|
0.67
|
0.40
|
0.23
|
4.228
|
Rachel Maddow Show
|
MSNBC
|
Tuesday
|
0.67
|
0.40
|
0.21
|
4.997
|
Tucker Carlson Tonight
|
FOX News
|
Thursday
|
0.64
|
0.37
|
0.21
|
4.402
|
The Ingraham Angle
|
FOX News
|
Tuesday
|
0.58
|
0.38
|
0.25
|
3.687
|
The Ingraham Angle
|
FOX News
|
Wednesday
|
0.57
|
0.32
|
0.13
|
3.603
|
Hannity
|
FOX News
|
Thursday
|
0.55
|
0.34
|
0.22
|
4.282
|
Rachel Maddow Show
|
MSNBC
|
Wednesday
|
0.55
|
0.33
|
0.13
|
3.951
|
The Ingraham Angle
|
FOX News
|
Thursday
|
0.47
|
0.29
|
0.18
|
3.514
|
The Story with Martha MacCallum
|
FOX News
|
Thursday
|
0.45
|
0.24
|
0.11
|
2.869
|
Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell
|
MSNBC
|
Tuesday
|
0.44
|
0.24
|
0.14
|
3.412
|
CNN Tonight (10pm)
|
CNN
|
Wednesday
|
0.42
|
0.27
|
0.10
|
1.960
|
The Story with Martha MacCallum
|
FOX News
|
Tuesday
|
0.41
|
0.25
|
0.13
|
2.641
|
Rachel Maddow Show
|
MSNBC
|
Thursday
|
0.39
|
0.23
|
0.09
|
3.304
|
Cuomo Prime Time
|
CNN
|
Wednesday
|
0.37
|
0.24
|
0.12
|
2.041
|
Anderson Cooper 360
|
CNN
|
Wednesday
|
0.37
|
0.23
|
0.10
|
1.892
|
All In with Chris Hayes
|
MSNBC
|
Tuesday
|
0.35
|
0.20
|
0.09
|
2.369
|
Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell
|
MSNBC
|
Wednesday
|
0.35
|
0.20
|
0.06
|
3.002
|
The Story with Martha MacCallum
|
FOX News
|
Wednesday
|
0.35
|
0.19
|
0.06
|
2.365
|
All In with Chris Hayes
|
MSNBC
|
Wednesday
|
0.32
|
0.17
|
0.09
|
2.329
|
Erin Burnett OutFront
|
CNN
|
Wednesday
|
0.31
|
0.21
|
0.08
|
1.508
|
Anderson Cooper 360
|
CNN
|
Tuesday
|
0.31
|
0.20
|
0.08
|
1.400
|
Cuomo Prime Time
|
CNN
|
Tuesday
|
0.30
|
0.18
|
0.09
|
1.418
|
The ReidOut
|
MSNBC
|
Wednesday
|
0.30
|
0.17
|
0.07
|
2.303
|
Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell
|
MSNBC
|
Thursday
|
0.28
|
0.17
|
0.07
|
2.457
|
The ReidOut
|
MSNBC
|
Tuesday
|
0.28
|
0.14
|
0.06
|
2.040
|
Cuomo Prime Time
|
CNN
|
Thursday
|
0.27
|
0.18
|
0.11
|
1.459
|
CNN Tonight (10pm)
|
CNN
|
Tuesday
|
0.27
|
0.17
|
0.09
|
1.199
|
The ReidOut
|
MSNBC
|
Thursday
|
0.26
|
0.15
|
0.09
|
2.151
|
Erin Burnett OutFront
|
CNN
|
Tuesday
|
0.25
|
0.16
|
0.06
|
1.239
|
Erin Burnett OutFront
|
CNN
|
Thursday
|
0.24
|
0.15
|
0.10
|
1.288
|
CNN Tonight (10pm)
|
CNN
|
Thursday
|
0.23
|
0.14
|
0.07
|
1.242
|
CNN Global Town Hall
|
CNN
|
Thursday
|
—
|
0.13
|
—
|
1.055
|
All In with Chris Hayes
|
MSNBC
|
Thursday
|
—
|
0.12
|
—
|
2.002
|
Network
|
A25-54
|
A18-49
|
A18-34
|
Total viewers
|
FOX News
|
0.57
|
0.34
|
0.19
|
3.769
|
MSNBC
|
~0.38
|
0.22
|
~0.1
|
2.938
|
CNN
|
~0.3
|
0.19
|
~0.09
|
1.475
|
On top this week in the key A25-54 demographic was Wednesday’s edition of Hannity, which featured a phone interview with President Trump. It came in second place on the chart in A18-49 and A18-34, behind only the previous night’s edition of Hannity.
As usual, Hannity and Tucker Carlson Tonight were the top two shows on average. However, Tuesday’s edition of Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC was the most-viewed hour of prime time cable news, getting nearly five million viewers. Maddow has consistently been MSNBC’s highest-rated show.
Thanks in large part to Maddow, MSNBC was the #2 network this week in all key demographics. MSNBC received nearly double the total viewers as CNN and edged it out significantly in A25-54. Leads were more minuscule among A18-49 and A18-34, but present nonetheless.
While MSNBC has typically been in second place in total viewers, it was not until recently when they became more competitive with CNN in the key demographics. As it was noted last week, CNN has the Presidential election to look forward to, and they often excel with event programming. However, lagging behind MSNBC with their regularly scheduled programming yet again is a troubling sign.
What’s most troubling about CNN’s woes is that it is not one single show that is causing the third place finishes. Thursday was a night filled with bad ratings all around for CNN, with their Global Town Hall failing to place in the top 50 programs on cable. Arguably, CNN’s biggest problem is they don’t have one single show that can anchor the rest. They don’t have their own Rachel Maddow Show or Tucker Carlson Tonight, and they may need one if they want a permanent resurgence.
What do you think? Leave a comment below!