Fox News marked its 149th consecutive month as the most-watched cable news network in May, beating MSNBC and CNN combined in total viewers and ranking sixth among all ad-supported cable networks in both total day and primetime. The network had the top 14 shows in total viewers and the top eight shows in the demo in all of cable news. But despite its strong hold on the top spot, Fox News hit a series of 13-year lows among younger viewers this month.
The ratings for May 2014 (Nielsen Live + Same Day data):
- Primetime (Mon-Sun): 1,455,000 total viewers / 221,000 A25-54
- Total Day Mon-Sun): 902,000 total viewers / 177,000 A25-54
Fox News, like all the cable news networks, was down compared the same month last year: the network was down -27% in total viewers and -25% in the A25-54 demographic in total day and -26% and -28%, respectively, in primetime.
In both total day and primetime, Fox News delivered its lowest ratings in the A25-54 demographic since August 2001, before the network took over as the number one cable news network. “Fox & Friends,” which leads the cable news morning shows in both total viewers and the demo, also had its lowest demo delivery since August 2001.
All the network’s primetime shows are down double-digits year-over-year. “The O’Reilly Factor” is down -28% in total viewers and -30% in the A25-54 demo. “The Kelly File” is down -17% in total viewers and -27% in the demo compared to the 9pmET hour last year and “Hannity” is down -30% and -23%, respectively, compared to the 10pmET hour last year. (Megyn Kelly and Sean Hannity debuted in the respective 9pmET and 10pmET timeslots in October.)
The newest addition to the Fox News lineup, “Outnumbered,” averaged 851,000 total viewers and 163,000 A25-54 viewers in the 12pmET hour. The show ranked 14th in total viewers and 15th in the demo among all cable news programs. And “The Five” and “Special Report with Bret Baier” both celebrated milestones this month: “The Five” has been number one in its timeslot for 35 consecutive months and “Special Report” has been number one in its timeslot for 65 consecutive months.