Fox News Celebrates Ratings Milestone and a New Triumph Over MSNBC

By Randy DeSoto October 2, 2018 at 3:23pm

Fox News — which will celebrate its 22nd anniversary of being on the air this weekend — marked its 67th straight quarter as the most-viewed cable news network.

Additionally, FNC’s flagship prime-time program, “Hannity,” was the No. 1 series on all of basic cable television in the third quarter of the year, according to Adweek’s TVNewser.

Nielsen Media Research reported that “Hannity” averaged 3.34 million viewers per night during the 9 p.m. Eastern timeslot.

Its next closet competitor, MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show,” averaged 2.95 million viewers.

Fox News’ programs make up six of the top 10 shows in all of cable news for total viewership.

https://twitter.com/TVNewsHQ/status/1047219569373450240

Compared to the third quarter of 2017, Hannity’s timeslot increased by double digits, 42 percent among total viewers and 29 percent among the age 25-54 demo, Fox News reported.

Among viewers in the coveted 25-54 demographic, “Hannity” drew 625,000 viewers to Maddow’s 573,000.

FNC’s total prime-time viewership averaged roughly 2.46 million which is up 14 percent over 2017’s third quarter, meanwhile MSNBC averaged 1.86 million total viewers, or a 6 percent increase.

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While both FNC and MSNBC have much to be pleased with in their numbers, CNN continues to struggle.

The network averaged less than 1.1 million total viewers in prime time, or a 5 percent decrease over last year during the same time period.

Its overall ratings for the third quarter were down 9 percent in total viewers and 20 percent in total daytime viewers compared to the same time period last year.

https://twitter.com/TVNewsHQ/status/1047224851293978625

A bright spot for CNN was its 10 p.m. Eastern program, “Tonight with Don Lemon,” which had its highest quarter on record, averaging approximately 1.2 million viewers per night for the quarter.

That number represents an 8 percent increase over last year.

None of CNN’s programs are currently in the top-10 most watched among cable news programming.

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Tags:

CNN, Fox News, Media watch, MSNBC, Sean Hannity

Randy DeSoto

Senior Staff Writer

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Randy DeSoto has written more than 3,000 articles for The Western Journal since he joined the company in 2015. He is a graduate of West Point and Regent University School of Law. He is the author of the book "We Hold These Truths" and screenwriter of the political documentary "I Want Your Money."

@RandyDeSoto

Randy DeSoto is the senior staff writer for The Western Journal. He wrote and was the assistant producer of the documentary film "I Want Your Money" about the perils of Big Government, comparing the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. Randy is the author of the book "We Hold These Truths," which addresses how leaders have appealed to beliefs found in the Declaration of Independence at defining moments in our nation's history. He has been published in several political sites and newspapers.

Randy graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a BS in political science and Regent University School of Law with a juris doctorate.

Birthplace

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Nationality

American

Honors/Awards

Graduated dean's list from West Point

Education

United States Military Academy at West Point, Regent University School of Law

Books Written

We Hold These Truths

Professional Memberships

Virginia and Pennsylvania state bars