Fox News again topped the June ratings, but the gap has narrowed with MSNBC, the only news network to see across-the-board viewership gains versus 2022.
The exit of Tucker Carlson continued to weigh on Fox News’ primetime. The network averaged 1.49 million viewers, down 31% versus the same period a year ago, while MSNBC averaged 1.32 million, up 3% from a year earlier. CNN posted 635,000 viewers, down 3%. In the 25-54 demo, Fox News averaged 148,000, down 54%, while MSNBC posted 144,000, up 6%, and CNN averaged 129,000, down 12%.
In total day, Fox News averaged 1.09 million, down 21%, compared to MSNBC with 831,000, up 9%, and 492,000 for CNN, up 1%. In the 25-54 demo, Fox News averaged 128,000, down 39%, compared to 100,000 for CNN, down 3%, and 97,000 for MSNBC, up 13%.
In the second quarter in primetime, Fox News averaged 1.69 million viewers, down 25%, compared to 1.27 million for MSNBC, up 12%, and 573,000 for CNN, down 14%. In the 25-54 demo, Fox News averaged 179,000, down 48%, compared to 139,000 for MSNBC, up 15%, and 126,000 for CNN, down 19%.
In total day, Fox News averaged 1.17 million viewers, down 20%, compared to 796,000 for MSNBC, up 16%, and 463,000 for CNN, down 11%. In the 25-54 demo, Fox News averaged 140,000, down 39%, compared to 95,000 for MSNBC, up 23% and 95,000 for CNN, down 16%.
Fox News announced a shuffle of its primetime lineup this week, with Jesse Watters Primetime taking the 8 p.m. ET slot filled by a series of rotating hosts since Carlson’s show was dropped in April. Gutfeld! will move up an hour to 10 p.m. ET, while The Ingraham Angle moves to 7 p.m. ET.
In June, The Five was the top viewed show, with 2.62 million viewers, followed by Jesse Watters Primetime with 2.08 million, Hannity with 2.06 million, Special Report with Bret Baier at 1.83 million and The Ingraham Angle with 1.7 million.
In the 25-54 demo, The Five topped with an average of 271,000, followed by Gutfeld! with 234,000, Hannity with 213,000, The Ingraham Angle with 190,000 and Special Report with Bret Baier with 187,000.
Those show rankings come with an asterisk, as they are for five-night-a-week shows. MSNBC’s once-a-week The Rachel Maddow Show averaged 2.44 million viewers and 266,000 in adults 25-54. That would be enough to place it 2nd among all cable news shows.
Otherwise, MSNBC’s most viewed five-night-a-week show was The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell, with an average of 1.68 million viewers. CNN’s most watched regular show was Anderson Cooper 360 with 833,000.
The ratings are from Nielsen via Fox News and MSNBC.