Below are three tables. The first table is of the ratings for prime time cable news shows across Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, and Newsmax TV from Monday, February 1 through Thursday, February 4. The second table is one of every show’s A25-54 average. The third table presents the network averages in A25-54. Keep in mind, A25-54 is the most important demographic on cable news for advertisers. A discussion follows.
|
|
Network |
Day |
A25-54 |
A18-49 |
A18-34 |
Total viewers |
|
Cuomo Prime Time |
CNN |
Tuesday |
0.55 |
0.33 |
0.15 |
2.458 |
|
Anderson Cooper 360 |
CNN |
Thursday |
0.54 |
0.36 |
0.18 |
2.706 |
|
Erin Burnett OutFront |
CNN |
Thursday |
0.53 |
0.35 |
0.17 |
2.537 |
|
Rachel Maddow Show |
MSNBC |
Thursday |
0.52 |
0.33 |
0.15 |
4.018 |
|
CNN Tonight (10pm) |
CNN |
Tuesday |
0.52 |
0.31 |
0.13 |
2.202 |
|
Rachel Maddow Show |
MSNBC |
Wednesday |
0.51 |
0.31 |
0.06 |
3.898 |
|
Anderson Cooper 360 |
CNN |
Tuesday |
0.50 |
0.33 |
0.17 |
2.143 |
|
Rachel Maddow Show |
MSNBC |
Monday |
0.50 |
0.30 |
0.10 |
3.706 |
|
Rachel Maddow Show |
MSNBC |
Tuesday |
0.49 |
0.34 |
0.15 |
3.557 |
|
Cuomo Prime Time |
CNN |
Thursday |
0.48 |
0.30 |
0.16 |
2.582 |
|
Tucker Carlson Tonight |
FOX News |
Monday |
0.48 |
0.27 |
0.09 |
3.598 |
|
Cuomo Prime Time |
CNN |
Wednesday |
0.47 |
0.31 |
0.16 |
2.405 |
|
Tucker Carlson Tonight |
FOX News |
Wednesday |
0.47 |
0.29 |
0.17 |
3.534 |
|
Tucker Carlson Tonight |
FOX News |
Tuesday |
0.46 |
0.29 |
0.14 |
3.523 |
|
Anderson Cooper 360 |
CNN |
Wednesday |
0.44 |
0.29 |
0.16 |
2.309 |
|
CNN Tonight (10pm) |
CNN |
Wednesday |
0.43 |
0.28 |
0.14 |
1.773 |
|
Tucker Carlson Tonight |
FOX News |
Thursday |
0.43 |
0.25 |
0.13 |
3.406 |
|
Cuomo Prime Time |
CNN |
Monday |
0.42 |
0.28 |
0.12 |
2.190 |
|
Erin Burnett OutFront |
CNN |
Wednesday |
0.41 |
0.28 |
0.16 |
2.041 |
|
CNN Tonight (10pm) |
CNN |
Thursday |
0.41 |
0.26 |
0.15 |
1.963 |
|
Anderson Cooper 360 |
CNN |
Monday |
0.41 |
0.26 |
0.12 |
2.064 |
|
CNN Tonight (10pm) |
CNN |
Monday |
0.39 |
0.26 |
0.09 |
1.833 |
|
Erin Burnett OutFront |
CNN |
Tuesday |
0.38 |
0.28 |
0.14 |
2.008 |
|
Erin Burnett OutFront |
CNN |
Monday |
0.37 |
0.25 |
0.13 |
1.981 |
|
Hannity |
FOX News |
Tuesday |
0.37 |
0.24 |
0.16 |
3.054 |
|
Hannity |
FOX News |
Monday |
0.37 |
0.21 |
0.08 |
2.992 |
|
Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell |
MSNBC |
Wednesday |
0.36 |
0.23 |
0.04 |
2.835 |
|
Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell |
MSNBC |
Monday |
0.36 |
0.19 |
0.08 |
3.126 |
|
Hannity |
FOX News |
Thursday |
0.36 |
0.19 |
0.07 |
2.858 |
|
Hannity |
FOX News |
Wednesday |
0.35 |
0.20 |
0.13 |
2.890 |
|
Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell |
MSNBC |
Thursday |
0.34 |
0.21 |
0.09 |
2.835 |
|
The ReidOut |
MSNBC |
Thursday |
0.34 |
0.20 |
0.11 |
2.725 |
|
The Ingraham Angle |
FOX News |
Thursday |
0.32 |
0.18 |
0.07 |
2.261 |
|
The Ingraham Angle |
FOX News |
Tuesday |
0.32 |
0.17 |
0.08 |
2.288 |
|
Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell |
MSNBC |
Tuesday |
0.31 |
0.24 |
0.12 |
2.579 |
|
All In with Chris Hayes |
MSNBC |
Thursday |
0.31 |
0.20 |
0.11 |
2.599 |
|
All In with Chris Hayes |
MSNBC |
Tuesday |
0.30 |
0.24 |
0.17 |
2.281 |
|
All In with Chris Hayes |
MSNBC |
Wednesday |
0.30 |
0.19 |
0.05 |
2.475 |
|
The ReidOut |
MSNBC |
Wednesday |
0.29 |
0.18 |
0.06 |
2.250 |
|
The ReidOut |
MSNBC |
Tuesday |
0.29 |
0.17 |
0.08 |
2.075 |
|
All In with Chris Hayes |
MSNBC |
Monday |
0.29 |
0.16 |
0.08 |
2.334 |
|
Fox News Primetime |
FOX News |
Wednesday |
0.27 |
0.18 |
0.12 |
2.161 |
|
Fox News Primetime |
FOX News |
Tuesday |
0.27 |
0.17 |
0.10 |
2.085 |
|
The ReidOut |
MSNBC |
Monday |
0.27 |
0.15 |
0.07 |
2.048 |
|
The Ingraham Angle |
FOX News |
Monday |
0.27 |
0.14 |
0.06 |
2.076 |
|
The Ingraham Angle |
FOX News |
Wednesday |
0.26 |
0.16 |
0.07 |
2.096 |
|
Fox News Primetime |
FOX News |
Monday |
0.25 |
0.15 |
0.07 |
1.960 |
|
Fox News Primetime |
FOX News |
Thursday |
— |
0.13 |
— |
1.891 |
|
Greg Kelly Reports |
Newsmax TV |
Tuesday |
— |
0.05 |
— |
0.555 |
|
Greg Kelly Reports |
Newsmax TV |
Thursday |
— |
0.05 |
— |
0.549 |
|
Greg Kelly Reports |
Newsmax TV |
Monday |
— |
0.04 |
— |
0.607 |
|
Greg Kelly Reports |
Newsmax TV |
Wednesday |
— |
0.04 |
— |
0.535 |
|
Stinchfield |
Newsmax TV |
Tuesday |
— |
0.04 |
— |
0.322 |
|
Stinchfield |
Newsmax TV |
Monday |
— |
— |
— |
— |
|
Stinchfield |
Newsmax TV |
Wednesday |
— |
— |
— |
— |
|
Stinchfield |
Newsmax TV |
Thursday |
— |
— |
— |
— |
|
Rob Schmitt Tonight |
Newsmax TV |
Monday |
— |
— |
— |
— |
|
Rob Schmitt Tonight |
Newsmax TV |
Tuesday |
— |
— |
— |
— |
|
Rob Schmitt Tonight |
Newsmax TV |
Wednesday |
— |
— |
— |
— |
|
Rob Schmitt Tonight |
Newsmax TV |
Thursday |
— |
— |
— |
— |
|
|
Network |
A25-54 |
|
Rachel Maddow Show |
MSNBC |
0.51 |
|
Cuomo Prime Time |
CNN |
0.48 |
|
Anderson Cooper 360 |
CNN |
0.47 |
|
Tucker Carlson Tonight |
FOX News |
0.46 |
|
CNN Tonight (10pm) |
CNN |
0.44 |
|
Erin Burnett OutFront |
CNN |
0.42 |
|
Hannity |
FOX News |
0.36 |
|
Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell |
MSNBC |
0.34 |
|
All In with Chris Hayes |
MSNBC |
0.30 |
|
The ReidOut |
MSNBC |
0.2975 |
|
The Ingraham Angle |
FOX News |
0.29 |
|
Fox News Primetime |
FOX News |
0.26* |
|
Greg Kelly Reports |
Newsmax TV |
— |
|
Stinchfield |
Newsmax TV |
— |
|
Rob Schmitt Tonight |
Newsmax TV |
— |
|
Network |
A25-54 |
|
CNN |
0.45 |
|
MSNBC |
0.36 |
|
FOX News |
0.34* |
|
Newsmax TV |
— |
*No A25-54 rating for Fox News Primetime was reported on Thursday, February 4 due to the program not finishing in the top 50 daily programs in A18-49.
By taking a holistic approach to these ratings, it is noticeable that Fox News finished below both CNN and MSNBC in the key A25-54 demographic. This is a stark contrast to 2020, when Fox News would regularly finish in first place, with Tucker Carlson Tonight and Hannity dominating the day-by-day tables. Fox News’ declines can no longer be blamed solely on Newsmax TV; the far-right network many of former President Trump’s core supporters flocked to appears to be losing steam these past couple weeks. It can also not be blamed on the schedule change; Fox News Primetime is charting in the top 50 daily programs more regularly than The Story did earlier in January.
Hannity is regularly being beat by Rachel Maddow Show and Cuomo Prime Time head-to-head, finishing below both shows in A25-54 on all four nights. It finished in seventh place for the four day period, substantially below every single CNN prime time program. News is even more dire for 11th-placed The Ingraham Angle, below all shows on both CNN and MSNBC. Now that President Biden has been inaugurated, the flagship conservative network has placed heavy emphasis on anti-Biden rhetoric. So far, it seems the heavy pro-Trump rhetoric clicked better with viewers.
With President Biden now being a reality, CNN has seen big gains and, at the moment, appears secure in the number one spot. Rachel Maddow beats all their programs on average, but the relative weakness of MSNBC’s other programs allow CNN to dominate. These ratings suggest Rachel Maddow Show and Cuomo Prime Time can co-exist in the same time slot, despite catering to similar audiences. Neither network have made significant changes in their rhetoric; anti-Trump coverage still dominates the airtime.
What do you think of these ratings? Leave a reaction and comment below!