There’s a new king in the cable news show ratings race. At least temporarily.
After 11 consecutive months at No. 1 in total viewers, The Five slipped to second place behind Tucker Carlson Tonight.
The provocative 8 p.m. news talk program averaged more viewers than any other cable news program in March 2023, 3.25 million per original broadcast.
The Five, second place in total viewers during the month of March, averaged 3.06 million at 5 p.m. Jesse Watters Primetime remained the third-most-watched cable news show for March (2.67 million), followed once again by Hannity (2.505 million) and Special Report with Bret Baier (2.20 million) rounding out the top five in average total viewers for March 2023.
Fox News Channel is home to the top 10 cable news shows in total viewers (it had the 13 most-watched in February), with The Ingraham Angle, Gutfeld!, Outnumbered, America’s Newsroom with Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino and The Faulkner Focus rounding out the top 10.
The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell is MSNBC’s most-watched show for the month of March. The 10 p.m. program averaged 1.45 million total viewers — No. 11 on all of cable news and up from February.
Anderson Cooper 360 is CNN’s most-watched show in March, averaging just 635,000 total viewers at 8 p.m.; more total viewers than any other CNN offering but down from its February average (673,000).
Here are the 10 most-watched cable news shows for Feb. 2023, as per live-plus-same-day data from Nielsen.
- Fox News | 8 p.m. / Tucker Carlson Tonight: 3,251,000/ 18 telecasts
- Fox News | 5 p.m. /The Five: 3,058,000 / 18 telecasts
- Fox News | 7 p.m./Jesse Watters Primetime: 2,670,000 / 17 telecasts
- Fox News | 9 p.m./ Hannity: 2,505,000 / 16 telecasts
- Fox News | 6 p.m. / Special Report with Bret Baier: 2,200,000 / 20 telecasts
- Fox News | 10 p.m./The Ingraham Angle: 1,966,000 / 17 telecasts
- Fox News | 11 p.m./Gutfeld! : 1,878,000 / 19 telecasts
- Fox News | 12 p.m. / Outnumbered: 1,629,000 / 20 telecasts
- Fox News | 9-10 a.m., 10-11 a.m. / America’s Newsroom with Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino: 1,594,000 / 40 telecasts
- Fox News | 11 a.m. / The Faulkner Focus: 1,547,000 / 20 telecasts
Below, the full cable news program ranker sorted by most to fewest total viewers:
How about the top cable news shows among adults 25-54? After all, this is a demographic that advertisers of TV news still focus their ad dollars on.
Tucker Carlson Tonight remains No. 1 on cable news in A25-54 by a substantial margin, averaging 421,000 from the age range in February, down from the whopping 461,000 the show averaged in January. The Five remained in second place (317,000) with Hannity (290,000), Gutfeld! (283,000) and Jesse Watters Primetime (280,000) rounding out the top five.
The Faulkner Focus and Outnumbered swapped spots in March, with Focus moving up to No. 8 among Adults 25-54 and Outnumbered dropping to No. 10 in Adults 25-54.
Fox News has the top 15 shows on cable news among Adults 25-54 yet again.
MSNBC’s The Beat with Ari Melber is the top non-Fox News cable news offering among adults 25-54, coming in at No. 16 with a 137,000 A25-54 average in March.
Erin Burnett Outfront is CNN’s top show among Adults 25-54, averaging 128,000 (No. 21 overall).
Here are the top 10 cable news shows in the key demo for March ’23, as per live-plus-same-day data from Nielsen:
- Fox News| 8 p.m./ Tucker Carlson Tonight: 421,000 / 18 telecasts
- Fox News | 5 p.m. / The Five: 317,000 / 18 telecasts
- Fox News | 9 p.m. / Hannity: 290,000 / 16 telecasts
- Fox News | 11 p.m./Gutfeld!: 283,000 /19 telecasts
- Fox News | 7 p.m. / Jesse Watters Primetime: 280,000 / 17 telecasts
- Fox News | 10 p.m./The Ingraham Angle: 236,000 / 17 telecasts
- Fox News | 6 p.m. / Special Report with Bret Baier: 232,000 / 20 telecasts
- Fox News | 11 a.m./The Faulkner Focus: 190,000 / 20 telecasts
- Fox News | 1-2 p.m., 2-3 p.m. / America’s Newsroom: 189,000 / 40 telecasts
- Fox News | 12 p.m./Outnumbered: 187,000 / 20 telecasts
Below, the full cable news program ranker sorted by most to fewest Adults 25-54: