January 2013 Ratings: Fox News Down Compared To Last Year

By Alex Weprin 

With January complete, Fox News has completed 11 straight years of being number one in cable news in both primetime and total day. That said, the network saw significant ratings declines in January–particularly in the pivotal adults 25-54 demographic–though its perch remains unthreatened for now.

The ratings for January, 2013:

  • Primetime (Mon-Sun): 1.617 million total viewers / 267,000 A25-54
  • Total Day Mon-Sun): 1.029 million total viewers / 209,000 A25-54

Fox News was down -6% in total viewers and -22% in the key adults 25-54 demo in total day in January, the lowest demo numbers since July 2008. In primetime, the network was down -17% in total viewers and -40% in the demo, posting its lowest demo numbers since May 2006. It is worth noting that January 2012 was a big one in the Republican primary race and FNC hosted two primary debates, but this month was no slouch either, with the inauguration and a number of big political stories.

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In primetime, 8 PM’s “The O’Reilly factor” was down only -2% in total viewers, though it was down -25% in the demo. At  9 PM “Hannity” was down -3% in total viewers, and down -19% in the demo. At 10 PM, “On the Record” was down -18% in total viewers and -38% in the demo.

The highlight for the network was 5 PM’s “The Five,” which was up +21% in total viewers and up +5% in the demo, easily the strongest performance of any show on the channel. Just about every hour of dayside programming was close to flat in total viewers, and down in the demo.

In the morning, “Fox & Friends” was up +5% in total viewers, but down -17% in the demo. It has been number one on cable news for 135 straight months, drawing more viewers than MSNBC, CNN and HLN combined.

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