Fox News Channel finished the week of August 17 ahead of major broadcast networks ABC and CBS in weekday primetime viewership, according to Nielsen Media Research Big Data + Panel ratings.
During the Monday through Friday primetime block, Fox News averaged nearly 2.4 million total viewers and 212,000 in the key 25-54 demographic. That total topped ABC’s 2.3 million viewers and CBS’s 2 million viewers. Across the full Monday through Sunday stretch, Fox News drew 2 million primetime viewers, edging out CBS’s 1.9 million, while posting 1.3 million viewers in total day programming.
The same ratings period showed declines for several competing news broadcasts. CBS Evening News posted its third consecutive week under 4 million viewers, finishing with 3,965,000.
Cable rival CNN recorded its lowest-rated week of the year in total day viewership with 412,000, a figure Fox News more than tripled. Meanwhile, MS Now recorded its second-lowest-rated week of the year across several categories, drawing 48,000 in the 25-54 total day demographic, 66,000 in the primetime demographic, and 850,000 total primetime viewers.
Fox News’ evening and primetime lineup was led by The Five, which averaged nearly 3.2 million viewers and 276,000 in the 25-54 demographic. In subsequent hours, Special Report with Bret Baier drew 2.3 million viewers (164,000 in 25-54), The Ingraham Angle reached 2.1 million viewers (141,000 in 25-54), Jesse Watters Primetime averaged nearly 2.7 million viewers (211,000 in 25-54), and Hannity recorded over 2.2 million viewers (198,000 in 25-54).
At 10 p.m. Eastern, late-night program Gutfeld! averaged over 2.3 million total viewers and 245,000 in the 25-54 age group. Those numbers placed the show ahead of broadcast late-night entries, including ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! (1.8 million total; 241,000 demo), NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon (1.3 million total; 221,000 demo), airings of CBS’ Comics Unleashed (748,000 total; 126,000 demo), and HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher (437,000 total; 67,000 demo).
The network’s daytime roster also finished ahead of broadcast daytime offerings such as ABC’s The View (1,459,000) and GMA3 (1,357,000), as well as NBC’s Today with Jenna & Sheinelle (1.3 million).
Fox daytime totals included America’s Newsroom, The Faulkner Focus, Outnumbered, and The Story with Martha MacCallum, which all averaged roughly 1.6 million viewers each, alongside America Reports (1,494,000) and The Will Cain Show (1.8 million).
Weekend programming was anchored by Saturday in America hosted by Kayleigh McEnany, which led Saturday broadcasts with more than 1.3 million viewers. On Sunday, The Sunday Briefing, anchored by Peter Doocy, led the day with nearly 1.4 million viewers, followed by Sunday Morning Futures with guest anchor Jason Chaffetz and Fox News Live anchored by Mike Emanuel, both drawing over 1.3 million viewers.
READ: Fox News Leads Summer Viewership Over Broadcast Rivals In Weekday Primetime
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