Fox News is in the midst of its most difficult stretch in recent memory. On April 19, the network settled its defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems to the tune of $787.5 million and five days later, parted ways its top-rated primetime host Tucker Carlson.
Despite the tumult, Fox News remained the most-watched cable news network for the 115th consecutive week, averaging 1.46 million total primetime viewers (No. 3 among all basic cable networks) and 1.09 million total day viewers (No. 1 among all basic cable network) for the week of April 24.
With Carlson now gone from 8 p.m., Fox News’ margin of victory in primetime was as tight as it’s been in a while. That’s likely going to be the case for the foreseeable future. FNC averaged just +258,000 more total primetime viewers and +6,000 more primetime adults 25-54 than MSNBC this past week.
In addition to finished third in total primetime viewers and holding onto first place in total day viewers, Fox News dropped to No. 17 in the primetime demo (135,000 viewers), and No. 4 in the total day demo (124,000 viewers), whereas MSNBC ranked No. 19 in the primetime demo (129,000 viewers), but No. 11 in the total day demo (93,000 viewers) this past week.
MSNBC was the fourth most-watched basic cable network in primetime (1.21 million) and No. 4 in total day viewers (784,000).
Despite its third place status, CNN saw a bump. The network averaged 622,000 total viewers in primetime (No. 10 among basic cable outlets) and 451,000 total day viewers (No. 5 among basic cable outlets). CNN was edged by MSNBC in the primetime demo by a razor thin margin of -1,000 viewers (128,000 vs. 129,000), and in the total day demo by -5,000 viewers (88,000 vs. 93,000).
Week of April 24, 2023 cable news ratings, Monday-Sunday (Nielsen live-same-day data):
| PRIME | Fox News | MSNBC | CNN |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 1,464,000 | 1,206,000 | 622,000 |
| • A25-54: | 135,000 | 129,000 | 128,000 |
| TOTAL DAY | Fox News | MSNBC | CNN |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 1,330,000 | 798,000 | 449,000 |
| • A25-54: | 124,000 | 93,000 | 88,000 |
The Five was the top cable news program across all categories for the week with 2.71 million total viewers and 271,000 adults 25-54.