The third quarter of 2017 was MSNBC’s most-watched quarter in network history, and that’s because of Rachel Maddow. TRMS was the No. 1 cable news show across-the-board for the recently-completed quarter. This is the first time that any MSNBC show has ranked No. 1 in all of cable news.
Fox News is home to 8 of the 10-most-watched cable news programs in total viewers, and 7 of the top 10 among adults 25-54 for Q3 2017. Tucker Carlson had Fox News’s most-watched program (and No. 2 overall), while Sean Hannity ranked No. 1 on the network in A25-54, the demo news advertisers focus their ad spend on.
The Five was No. 4 in total viewers, Special Report with Bret Baier was No. 6, The Story with Martha MacCallum was No. 7 and America’s Newsroom was No. 9.
Elsewhere in the top 10, The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell was No. 5 in total viewers, All in with Chris Hayes was No. 8, and the 11th Hour with Brian Williams had a big month and came in 10th.
The 20 most-watched cable news programs for Q3 2017 aired either on Fox News or on MSNBC. Anderson Cooper 360 was CNN’s most-watched show, coming in at No. 21.
CNN fared far better in the A25-54 rankings. AC 360 was the 6th-most-watched cable news show among adults 25-54 this past quarter, and was followed by CNN Tonight with Don Lemon at No. 7 across cable news.
Among the big three cable news morning shows, Fox & Friends ranked No. 1 in the key categories, followed by Morning Joe. New Day fell to Morning Joe by 9,000 A25-54 viewers.
The cable news morning show numbers for Q3 2017:
- Total Viewers: FNC: 1.504 M / MSNBC: 1.029 M / CNN: 643 k
- A25-54 viewers: FNC: 343 k / MSNBC: 237 k / CNN: 228 k
Elsewhere in cable news, Jay Leno‘s Garage was CNBC’s No. 1 show for Q3 2017 in total viewers, and No. 49 overall. Lou Dobbs Tonight was Fox Business’s No. 1 show for the quarter, and No. 53 overall.
Forensic Files was HLN’s most-watched show for the quarter, followed by Morning Express with Robin Meade.